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What do I like about Death Metal? If you were to ask me that very important and vital question, I would have to tell you that I like pummeling, heavy, obscure sounding music with winding, dark solos and vocals that sound like they might as well have been recorded by one of the Old Gods. That is what Diabolic offer on this little compilation, featuring material from both of their existing demo EPs, and if I do say so myself, it is quite a satisfactory venture.

Diabolic don't fuck around here. The songs are all really short, with the longest one clocking in at 4:10, and they're also all very fast and heavy, with snarling riffs and a dark, gritty guitar tone to boot, backed up by bashing drums and melodic, twisted solos that really take this thing up a notch and make it sound just as cool and evil as Death Metal should always sound. Their conviction is ironclad, their energy pure and unbridled and their fury blazing with red-hot hatred, and this is just about as organic and lively as Death Metal gets when it's at its best. The first demo, Chaos in Hell is a bit more raw sounding and "clicky," whereas the Possessed by Death stuff is a lot heavier, darker and thicker, and I like the latter better. The first song on here isn't that great, but then they put the pedal to the metal and start to chug out killers like "Chaos in Hell," "The Suffering Church" and especially the awesome "Evulsions of the Soul." Diabolic aren't very original, but me, I'd take something as cool and underground sounding as this over another Opeth album any day.

Everything about this just screams 'old school' in big, bright neon lights (coated with blood and gore and skulls), and it put a big ole Metal smile on my face the first time I heard it. Diabolic know exactly how to do it, and I hope they come out with some more material and rip our faces off once again soon. Recommended.