UMUR "Excisions of Exorcisms" is the 5th full-length studio album by US, Tampa, Florida based death metal act Diabolic. The album was released through Deathgasm Records in April 2010. It´s the successor to "Infinity Through Purification" from 2003. So it´s been seven years between the two album releases, but quite a lot has happened in those years.

Diabolic started out pretty promising near the end of the last millennium, and released three very solid Morbid Angel influenced death metal albums, before lineup and label problems meant that three members of the band left to form Unholy Ghost (and released the "Torrential Reign" album in 2004), while sole remaining member guitarist Brian Malone continued Diabolic with a new lineup and released the fourth Diabolic album "Infinity Through Purification" in 2003. Malone opted to discontinue Diabolic in 2004 though, and as Unholy Ghost also disbanded a year later in 2005, drummer Aantar Coates and guitarist Kelly McLauchlin saw a chance to revive the Diabolic name. They released the "Possessed by Death" EP in 2006 and the "Chaos in Hell" EP in 2007. The two EPs feature two relatively different lineups and "Excisions of Exorcisms" again features a new Diabolic lineup. On this album there are two original members of the band in drummer Aantar Coates and lead vocalist/bassist Paul Ouellette, and lead guitarist Kelly McLauchlin (who the former two had played with in Unholy Ghost), makes a return to Diabolic (he had shortly been a member of Diabolic in 2006). The lineup is completed by lead guitarist Jeff Parrish (who Coates had worked with on the shortlived Blastmasters projekt).

So far...so good. It´s nothing new with lineup changes on a new Diabolic release, and in the past they have always been able to release quality death metal releases and stylistically the material on "Excisions of Exorcisms" pretty much continue down the same technically well played and predominantly fast-paced death metal style of most of the band´s preceding releases. To my ears it sounds a bit like they´ve forgotten to write memorable songs through and not much stands out here. The music is competently played, and the album features a professional sounding production job (although it seriously lacks dynamics), but the spark and the memorable hooks are missing. So "Excisions of Exorcisms" is a slightly disappointing return for Diabolic, but it´s not a bad release by any means. Compared to their first three albums and even the slightly different sounding "Infinity Through Purification (2003)", this one is the least interesting. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is still deserved though.

UMUR "Chaos in Hell / Possessed by Death" is a compilation album released by US, Tampa, Florida based death metal act Diabolic. The album was released through Deathgasm Records in March 2008. It compiles the material from the December 2006 EP "Possessed by Death" and the October 2007 EP "Chaos in Hell". The tracklist is in reverse chronological order, featuring the material from "Chaos in Hell (2007)" first on the album and then the material from "Possessed by Death (2006)".

Diabolic started out pretty promising near the end of the last millennium, and released three very solid Morbid Angel influenced death metal albums, before lineup and label problems meant that three members of the band left to form Unholy Ghost (and released the "Torrential Reign" album in 2004), while sole remaining member guitarist Brian Malone continued Diabolic with a new lineup and released the fourth Diabolic album "Infinity Through Purification" in 2003. Malone opted to discontinue Diabolic in 2004 though, and as Unholy Ghost also disbanded a year later in 2005, drummer Aantar Coates and guitarist Kelly McLauchlin saw a chance to revive the Diabolic name. On "Possessed by Death (2006)" the lineup was completed by R.J. Reinagle (guitars) and Jesse Jolly (vocals/bass) (whom Coates had worked with on the shortlived Blastmasters projekt), but on "Chaos in Hell" the lineup was changed again and features drummer Aantar Coates, guitarist R.J. Reinagle and lead vocalist/bassist Paul Ouellette. The latter is the original lead vocalist/bassist of both Diabolic and Unholy Ghost.

Although the material from the two EPs very recorded by relatively different lineups, all tracks are unmistakably the sound of Diabolic. Predominantly fast-paced and brutal death metal. Fast tremolo riffs, screaming chromatic solos, and a fast playing and energetic rhythm section. Both Ouellette and Jolly are strong growling vocalists with commaninding deliveries and although I prefer the material from "Possessed by Death (2006)", this compilation is a pretty consistent release in terms of both quality and style. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Chaos in Hell" is an EP release by US, Tampa, Florida based death metal act Diabolic. The EP was independently released in October 2007 and was primarily created to shop for a new label to release the fifth Diabolic album. The band has already tried the same about a year earlier with the release of the "Possessed by Death" EP from December 2006, but apparently didn´t succeed in their mission at that point. In 2008 the material from both EPs were compiled on the "Chaos in Hell / Possessed by Death" compilation album.

Diabolic started out pretty promising near the end of the last millennium, and released three very solid Morbid Angel influenced death metal albums, before lineup and label problems meant that three members of the band left to form Unholy Ghost (and released the "Torrential Reign" album in 2004), while sole remaining member guitarist Brian Malone continued Diabolic with a new lineup and released the fourth Diabolic album "Infinity Through Purification" in 2003. Malone opted to discontinue Diabolic in 2004 though, and as Unholy Ghost also disbanded a year later in 2005, drummer Aantar Coates and guitarist Kelly McLauchlin saw a chance to revive the Diabolic name. On "Possessed by Death (2006)" the lineup was completed by R.J. Reinagle (guitars) and Jesse Jolly (vocals/bass) (whom Coates had worked with on the shortlived Blastmasters projekt), but on "Chaos in Hell" the lineup has changed again and now consists of drummer Aantar Coates, guitarist R.J. Reinagle and lead vocalist/bassist Paul Ouellette. The latter is the original lead vocalist/bassist of both Diabolic and Unholy Ghost.

The material on "Chaos in Hell" pretty much continue the brutal and technically well played death metal style of the preceding "Possessed by Death (2006)" EP. Ouellette is a slightly more diverse death metal growler than Jolly, although both are great frontmen. The tracks are predominantly fast-paced, brutal, and aggressive, but Diabolic are also able to deliver some brutal mid-paced sections. The loss of McLauchlin is unfortunate as he is a skilled lead guitarist, and his solos are missed on this release.

"Chaos in Hell" features a slightly less interesting production job compared to the production on "Possessed by Death (2006)" and it´s a shame, as it ultimately also means a slightly lower rating from me. The fact that the tracks on the EP are also very short (none exceed the 3 minutes mark) make them sound a little rushed too, and I much prefer the material from the preceding EP. Still a 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating isn´t all wrong.

UMUR "Possessed by Death" is an EP release by US, Tampa, Florida based death metal act Diabolic. The EP was independently released in December 2006 and was primarily created to shop for a new label to release the fifth Diabolic album. I guess the band didn´t succeed because they released the "Chaos in Hell" EP in October 2007 with the same intention (shopping for a new label). In 2008 the material from both EPs were compiled on the "Chaos in Hell / Possessed by Death" compilation album.

Diabolic started out pretty promising near the end of the last millennium, and released three very solid Morbid Angel influenced death metal albums, before lineup and label problems meant that three members of the band left to form Unholy Ghost (and released the "Torrential Reign" album in 2004), while sole remaining member guitarist Brian Malone continued Diabolic with a new lineup and released the fourth Diabolic album "Infinity Through Purification" in 2003. Malone opted to discontinue Diabolic in 2004 though, and as Unholy Ghost also disbanded a year later in 2005, drummer Aantar Coates and guitarist Kelly McLauchlin saw a chance to revive the Diabolic name. On "Possessed by Death" the lineup is completed by R.J. Reinagle (guitars) and Jesse Jolly (vocals/bass) (whom Coates had worked with on the shortlived Blastmasters projekt).

Stylistically the 5 tracks on the 13:15 minutes long EP (two of the tracks are a short intro and outro) are a slightly updated version of classic Diabolic sound. Technically well played, brutal, and and aggressive death metal (very similar in style and sound to the Blastmasters project). It´s predominantly very fast-paced (although there occasionally are slower heavier parts in the music too) with blasting drums and screaming chromatic solos being thrown in from left and right. New lead vocalist Jolly has a strong voice and a commanding delivery (you believe him when he opens the title track with the words..."Your Number is Up"), which suits the relentless brutality of the music well. The sound production is not perfect, which is mostly due to the thin triggered sound of the drums, but that´s one of the few negative features on the EP, and it´s not a serious issue. A 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Infinity Through Purification" is the 4th full-length studio album by US, Tampa, Florida based death metal act Diabolic. The album was released through Olympic Recordings in October 2003. It´s the successor to "Vengeance Ascending" from 2001 and there have been great lineup changes since the predecessor as only guitarist Brian Malone remains from the lineup who recorded "Vengeance Ascending". Original bassist Edwin Webb, who left after the release of the band´s debut full-length studio album "Supreme Evil (1998)", has returned to the fold though, also performing vocals this time around. Guitarist Eric Hersemann and drummer Gaël Barthélemy are also new in the lineup. The three members who left would form the relatively shortlived Unholy Ghost and release the "Torrential Reign" album in 2004.

Stylistically the material on "Infinity Through Purification" is slightly different in style from the first three albums, which all had a very similar sound and style. It´s not a vastly different sounding release to the first three, as we´re still treated to some technically well played death metal music in the old school US vein (in the faster and more brutal end of the spectrum). The material is a bit more adventurous and original sounding than the (close to) Morbid Angel worship on the first three albums, although Morbid Angel is still a heavy influence on the material on "Infinity Through Purification". New drummer Barthélemy adds quite a different sound to the music with some pretty creative drumming (for the style), and Webb has a more "regular" growling vocal style, although he also occasionally uses a higher pitched screaming vocal style. There are other differences too like the occasionally more atmospheric section, a higher number of guitar solos and the slightly more melodic nature of said guitar solos. The lineup changes have definitely had an impact on the band´s sound.

I´m not sure my ears enjoy the guitar tone and the overall sound on "Infinity Through Purification", but that´s my subjective opinion, and objectively it´s a well produced album, featuring a powerful and raw sound, suiting the material well. It´s an extremely hard hitting abrasive release (I would of course expect nothing less from Diabolic) and sometimes the relentless aggression and high energy pace are almost too much, but the above mentioned atmospheric sections and the many well played guitar solos thankfully pull in another and more varied direction. I think I prefer the first three albums over this one, but "Infinity Through Purification" is still a high quality death metal release, and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is fully deserved.