First album for Dieth!
Created in 2022 by David Ellefson (bass, Altitudes & Attitude, ex-Megadeth, ex-KK’s Priest) following his departure from Megadeth, the musician recruited Guilherme Miranda (guitar/vocals, Krow, ex-Entombed AD) and Michal Lysejko (drums, Morowe, Pagan Forest, ex-Decapitated) with whom he worked on To Hell and Back. The album is released in 2023 by Napalm Records.
The band is accompanied live by Hubert Wiecek (guitar, Banisher, ex-Decapitated).
To Hell And Back, the eponymous title track, is the first to arrive, letting a long clean-sounding introduction lead into raw Death Metal tinged with energetic thrash influences. The massive vocal parts perfectly match the ambient aggression, barely nuanced by the few airy samples, then the band adopts a Punk energy on Don’t Get Mad … Get Even! and its motivating backing vocals. The rhythm remains effective and razor-sharp, allowing the musicians to offer a relatively straightforward approach before Wicked Disdain returns to darker, more disturbing sounds, which fit in well with their heavy riffs. The unhealthy groove gives way to more cheerful, heady influences to start Free Us All, but the musicians soon return to violence with crushing, jerky riffs, which in turn give way to danceable parts to introduce the solo. The heady melodies carry us through to the final, then on to the rousing Heavy Is the Crown, which mixes heaviness and catchy, stage-crafted tones with, ironically, a hint of heavy metal in the screaming lead parts. Walk With Me Forever is the album’s power ballad, sung with emotion by David Ellefson while his bandmates provide a very melodic basis, before Dead Inside returns to let the aggression shine through with abrasive saturation and much livelier patterns. The energy doesn’t let up on The Mark of Cain, which features a solid Old School rhythm section where bass allows itself a few more melodic spikes, while drums unleash their devastating double kick and effective vocal parts. The final moment is more ethereal, before giving way to In the Hall of the Hanging Serpents and its catchy patterns, which let leads give a heady sound rather far removed from the general spirit, but the mix remains coherent and is followed by Severance, the last composition, which although short allows the band to place a few melodies to close the album with a gentle instrumental.
Despite coming from relatively different worlds, the three musicians have managed to forge a versatile identity for Dieth, letting To Hell and Back place aggressive riffs or soaring melodies before blending them as they please.
70/100