One of those bands that straddle the fence between Brutal Death Metal and Technical Death, French five-piece Diktat mix the best parts of Suffocation and (old) Cryptopsy but have an individual style of Death Metal that makes listening to this, their second demo, quite an interesting experience. When I say they straddle the fence, I don’t mean they’re neither brutal nor technical, I mean the band are both! Opening track Indiscipline Jurisprudence alone batters you around the head with pure heaviness but also takes the time to include jazzy bass trills and one moment in particular where the band almost break down and all start to play different things is little short of amazing. Rhythm section the brothers van Deth especially are excellent, beating a million pathways to damnation whilst guitarists Alexandre and Jérémie provide a variety of riffs and some excellent leads.

If there’s a weak spot in the band, and there isn’t, it would be Mathieu’s vocals, which are deep growls with little variation. Yet they work well, and help provide that sense of claustrophobia which the best Death Metal bands can create – the likes of Pregnancy are rolling waves of horror whilst Attrition is a grinding storm of technicality, the nearest comparison the likes of Demilich, technical yet atmospheric Death Metal that washes over you like a tidal wave. Of course, Diktat aren’t up to the high standard set by classic Nespithe, but on the evidence shown here there is a great deal of quality to come from the French horde.

Depressingly, Diktat formed all the way back in 1997, and since their first demo was released in 2000 this does suggest that some record companies are simply not doing their homework. The likes of Season Of Mist or Osmose – both French Metal labels of high quality for whom I have massive amounts of respect – should have snapped Diktat up years ago! The band are clearly at that stage in their career when they’ve achieved mastery of their instruments, and the more I listen to II the better it gets. Really, for a demo this is ridiculously good, and the fact that it could be released as a full-length without any changes at all shows how silly the Extreme Metal world can be at times. Diktat are excellent, and if there’s any justice they’ll be signed to a label by the time you’re reading this.