13th June 2023

Review: “Pray For the Flood” by Diesomnia

They say that good things come to those who wait and the gestational period of EP “Pray for the Flood” from Ohio Death Thrash enthusiasts Diesomnia has certainly been that. The bastard offspring of four Ohio and West Virginia veteran bands have been playing live together for a long time, unleashing debut single “Life Of Stone” back in 2017 and sharing stages with household names like The Black Dahlia Murder, Whitechapel and Slaughter To Prevail. Forced to postpone their plans due to the pandemic as drummer Cary Alltop was laying down the first of the drum tracks for the record, it finally sees release having been mixed by Eric Rachel (God Forbid, Aborted, Municipal Waste)…

Having made their peace with being forced to wait, Diesomnia waste no time in sinking their rotting teeth into their material with the opening cut being the records title track. Sitting in the center of the Bermuda triangle between Death, Thrash and Groove Metal the influences from the likes of Devildriver, They Art Is Murder and Megadeth which the band cite bleed out almost immediately, the power and prowess of the musicians shining like a beacon in the distant dark. Vocalist Chad Cochran has a ferocious bark and gives us an anthemic chorus while sonically the band have an instant appeal in familiarity of sound and style. The dirge laden riffs of “No Truth” echo 2003 era Metalcore, the band twisting and contorting through violent dark moods in spitting, snarling, snorting fashion as this one plays out. It makes for one of the records finest moments with the breakdown section at the grand finale being a Chef’s Kiss. A barnstorming cut adorned by blast beats and an atmosphere a shade darker, “Blood Red Sorrow” finds Cochran reaching hitherto unheard gravelly bowel clenching new lows. Rattling the bones with some solid rythmic dynamics and old school vibes, the nostalgia levels are turned up a notch as the band pull another rabbit out of the hat.

A cleaner unclean vocal moment rears its ugly head during the raw and passionate personal tale that is “The Art of Hopelessness“, the sinister leads lifting it to a new realm of existence and injecting a lethal dose of charm. The meloncholic lyrics resonate, a pain felt deep inside expressed without the need for anything Nu. After that intense experience, “A Cure for Weakness” begins at a gallop as it approaches ramming speed, continuing to expose more high grade incendiary leads. Solid and headbangable on the first listen, it has all the appeal of an ice cold beer on a boiling hot day. A fitting finale, “You Will Know Loss” slows things down in the first half building the flames with smouldering churn before raising the tempo for a savage mid section that is nothing short of commanding. If this had surfaced from the black lagoon twenty years ago then there is no doubt that Diesomnia would have been held aloft as the next big thing [7.5/10]

Track Listing