Review by Alex on August 26, 2019.

I understand what these guys were going for, but it was not executed the way I would have imagined it to, which is both a good and bad thing as the element of surprise is often a welcome factor. But in this case it's not so entirely. What I like about this record is the early Archgoat influences being touted around, Angelcunt for example, and the untamed vocals atop the compositions. Though some aspects of this 2-track EP are to my liking such as the drum patterns and riffing, I have found the more technical elements of the instrumental arrangements to be a bit sloppy. These two tracks come off as being bestial yes, but poorly gathered if you understand what I mean. The ability to play is there but the overall presentation appears to sound of disunity as if every member has their own idea of pace keeping; though definitely knowledgeable musicians, the song sections sound drunkenly put together. It pisses me off because I like the artwork and the theme behind the record, but where the music is concerned, it just does not give me a feeling of unity, rather, a rushed and scrambled together effort is what I get after hearing the tracks 'Rome 897' and 'Stavelot 1597'. I think Dikasterion can do better than this, they have the tools, it’s just a matter of fluently linking them together.

Rating: 5 out of 10

Review by JD on August 23, 2016.

I have reviewed this stellar Finnish band awhile back (album was named Nil) I gave that heavy and viciously melancholic masterpiece a whopping 9.9 out of 10. I hit play on the CD player and wait, hoping that this amazing doom/death act from Finland can match the last one.

The 0 X í S T album begins with the first cut hammering through the speakers, I am struck by one thing … it is brutally heavy as shit. Melodic yet ponderingly slow, the album kicks off with a dark tune about a dark place people go to in sorrow. The next few tracks are as well vicious as the first, showing complexity that just adds to the nasty vibe they are creating. Showing they are influenced by such bands like Novembers Doom, they add and really odd Cradle Of Filth vibe to it.

Songs like the lumbering slowness of the album opener called 'In the Hood of the Clan of Tombs', to the sweeping slow paced epic vibe of over twelve minute 'No life to Bother' creates such a dark and ominous album that oozes greatness with each passing second. Each song drags you into their world of lurking shadows, despair and blackness… exactly what a good, solid doom album should be.

Perhaps it is the progressive vibe that deepens the heaviness, and catapults 0 X í S T into a doom metal category all of themselves but whatever this band has in store for the next release, be certain that I will be getting it – and I don’t care if I end up not doing it for review purposes, it will be in hand as soon as I can get it there.

Rating: 10 out of 10