ALBUM REVIEW: Darklord – Diabolical Onslaught

Here I review the debut full length from Malaysian Black/Death/Doom Metallers DARKLORD. Out now via Gedebe Records.

1. Intro – The Haunting Moon sets things off with creepy sampling featuring chains, thunder and howls. A perfect start for an extreme album to set a dark and gruesome mood with some nice gothic touches. The synths add a stunning old school flourish, not unlike Bathory and King Diamond, certainly a good sign for the album.
2. Penumbra Ritual jumps in with chaotically thrashing riffs, frenzied snarls and barraging drums. Forcefully driving us in with blisteringly old school Black Metal, the impact is strong from the off. Utilising minimalist keyboards with the barbaric attack of the song adds some nice balance to the gorgeously nostalgic blasts of the maniacal track. There is plenty of melody but in a raw and harsh manner, with plenty of tempo diversity and intense songwriting that is crushingly heavy, this is a damn impressive first track.
3. Mystical Journey starts off with more haunting synths and built in guitars / drums that grow into a storming death-march. The insanity captured in the vocals and instruments is punchy and menacing with a ferocity that is both raw and clear. I love the use of keyboards to add a creepy vibe to the song while letting the sludgy and primal Extreme Metal take the foreground. The chugging piece is definitely some tight headbanging fuel. The solo featured some nice whammy dives and simplistic shredding which adds to the old school feel of the music beautifully. Excellent work.
4. The Soaring Wrath follows up with an evil sounding sample and orthodox style chants, a chilling way to bring in some violent music that adds so much intense atmospherics, especially with the foreboding sound of the bell toll. The riffs, drums and screams rip right in with a rejuvenated aggression that bombards us with hastily performed extremity. The groove of the track is immediately captivating and filled with some epic synth work alongside the gruellingly brutal attack from the band. Another totally glorious piece.
5. The Black Gate churns out doomy riffs, building up to a nicely upbeat and anthemic verse that feels truly like a cult hit in the underground scene for future years. With chugging guitars, hammering drums, violent screeches and powerful synths, there is something for everybody in this more laid-back yet decimating piece of old school Heavy Metal mayhem. The more primitive, punchy and upbeat nature of the song certainly adds to the catchiness, giving the album a more light-hearted feel that will definitely entice more people to check out this gruellingly dark beast but we are also given some soulful lead work. Absolutely brilliant.
6. Fatal Illusion takes an unexpected turn with Sci-Fi style ambient effects, adding a weird vibe before cavernously doomy riffs belt us along with snarled vocals and chiming drums. The gnarly groove of the song is slow tempo but hits with full forcefulness and a hugely atmospheric feel as the building convulsive instrumentals contort into immeasurably extreme grinding attacks, interwoven with the more melodic slower parts. The sheer amount of excellent songwriting, priceless diversity and intricately evil production allows this song to be executed with total strength. Fantastic.
7. Prisoners Of Lust draws in with more haunting ambience, adding to the foreboding nature of the music with a truly dark touch. Ferociously blasting in with more violent riffing and chaotic drums, the screamed vocals immediately take me back to bands like Mystifier and Goatlord with the sensational mix of varying Extreme Metal genres, used together in unison to make a gruesomely varied and gut-wrenching experience for the true lovers of underground and classic Heavy Metal. The cosmic synths make a re-appearance as do the well built guitars adding to the tense piece with it’s monolithic atmospherics and charging bestial assaults. Utterly phenomenal.
8. Victoriam Autem De Vindicta is the finale for this grandiose album, which has felt so huge and extensive despite its short running time. Setting off on this final chapter with melancholic and macabre ambient synths, I am curious to see how this final song shall end this crushing album. The tranquility is gorgeous yet unnerving amongst such extreme tracks. With spoken word and synth flutes, this piece is chilling and also rather sombre. Keeping things simple and allowing the album to bow out gracefully works really well, adding to the complete feeling of this clearly well thought out opus.

This album was crushing. The slow and drawn out parts were atmospheric, the faster sections were piercing and the overall experience was dark and filled with a dungeon-dwelling old school vibe. A ferocious and awesome journey in such a short album that must be heard. -9/10