Review by JD on May 4, 2012.

I love bands that seem to just lurk on the very fringes of breaking out... you know the type. They never got the chance because of perhaps lack of press, management screw-ups or other situations that keep them in the minor leagues so to speak. One such band that should have been way bigger than they have gotten was Florida based Diabolic.

One basic word describes this band who’s internal troubles and member changes have nearly broken this band into many pieces.... powerful. Fusing some shadings of Thrash and blackened lyrics into Death-esque styled metal, Diabolic walks that fine line between complex melodies and having such mind numbing heavy chaos with pure metallic class. They are the apodeme of metal’s classiest.

Eight nasty, melodic, riotous, heavy as fucking lead and purly amazing gore plastered songs are what Diabolic has offered - to a hungry metallic masses. As heavy as any Carcass song, yet monumental as Dark Angel got, this band’s music slices into your mind and sets up a moshpit of epic per portions. Pick any song that is placed on this disk, and you will see why I am so surprised that this band is not up there with the legendary Death or Death Metal innovators Cannibal Corpse.

It is sad that all of this shit has kept such an amazing band from being a favorite in our scene. I say this without reservation, go out and find the albums and promote them to the max. Diabolic deserve for the world’s attention - and a chance to show just how fucking good they are to everyone. Let them make you a DIABOLIC!!

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9.5
Atmosphere: 10
Production: 9
Originality:9.5
Overall: 9.5

Rating: 9.5 out of 10

Review by Adam M on April 15, 2012.

Withered plays an aggressive form of metal that mixes up a variety of styles into an interesting concoction. It has remnants of Hardcore, but also touches of the Atmospheric Metal that bands like Neurosis and Isis have held in thrall for years. While this band doesn’t reach the great heights of those bands, there are plenty of enjoyable moments to be found on this disc.

The suffocating nature of the riffs makes for a listen that is quite intense throughout. There is a sense of being increasingly consumed by the riffs of the band as the album progresses into its later stages and this gives an impressive overall atmosphere to the album. Withered have roots in the Hardcore and Punk genres as well, however and this shows throughout the length of the release. There are similarities to bands like Converge to be found here, but also nods to Mastodon as well. The entire album maintains a fairly high quality, but there are certainly some segments that are more compelling than others, such as the excellent closing track 'Among Sorrow'.

In terms of instrumentation and production values, the band is very good and well above average, but still a few notches below outstanding. The sound on the disc is somewhat hollow, though still quite potent. Fans of Atmospheric Metal that has a mixture of many different styles and types of music will certainly be interested in looking into "Memento Mori". It’s a bit rough around the edges, but there is also a lot of quality on offer here.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 8
Atmosphere: 8
Production: 7
Originality: 8.5
Overall: 8

Rating: 7.9 out of 10