It still amazes me just how vast our little rabbit hole in the field of human culture really is. I’ve been crawling through it for over two decades now and I’m still constantly discovering great bands that I missed along the way. Such is the case with Poland’s Disloyal. The group formed back in ‘97 and have since released a demo, five full-lengths, and an EP, yet I never heard of them until their latest album, Godless, appeared in my SoundCloud feed and soon became one of the few death metal albums that I spent money on this year.

The strength of Godless lies not in originality, but in the way it harnesses the influences of some great bands that came before it. Of course, that’s usually the case for even the most revered death metal of recent years as the room to innovate nears capacity. But, instead of more buzzsaw and murk (not that I don’t enjoy that too), Disloyal remembers that there’s still a time and place for something more slick and punchy. They also remember that technical death metal doesn’t need to be completely sterile and forgettable. By marrying the riffs and melodicism of latter-era Death with the stuttering technicality of Decapitated and blistering speed of Vader, Godless provides a satisfying, balanced alternative to death metal’s warring factions. Disloyal’s creativity and songwriting chops may not be quite on par with those legendary acts, but they execute the style with both youthful intensity and veteran prowess. Add to that some commanding vocals and powerful solos and you’ve got yourself some damn enjoyable death metal.

As if that wasn’t enough to get me wondering where these guys have been hiding for the past 18 years, one track in particular shows that they have the ability to create something truly special. If you’re not too young to remember death metal in the early to mid ‘90s, you might recall a few instances when the scene’s leading acts released tracks that were more subdued than usual, but packed just as much punch through feeling and atmosphere. Morbid Angel’s “God of Emptiness,” Death’s “The Philosopher,” and Hypocrisy’s “Apocalypse” are some prime examples. Disloyal’s “Self-Carving Titan” is that kind of a song. It alone is worth the price of admission.

It seems strange to think of a nearly two decade old band as promising, but Disloyal is new to me, and that’s how I feel about them right now. An album with more of the magic that they captured with “Self-Carving Titan” could push them outside of the shadow of their influences and earn them a more prominent spot on the metal world map. In the meantime, I’ll be tracking down their back catalog to see what else I’ve been missing.

[Visit the band's website]

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