UMUR
"Supreme Evil" is the debut full-length studio album by US, Tampa, Florida based death metal act Diabolic. The album was released through Conquest Music, Inc. in late 1998. "Supreme Evil" was recorded at Morrisound Studios in June 1998. Diabolic formed in 1996 and released the "City of the Dead" demo in 1997.
Being from Tampa, Florida (the home of the legendary Morrisound Studios and equally legendary death metal acts like Morbid Angel, and Deicide) it´s almost a matter of course that Diabolic play an old school US death metal style strongly influenced by the above mentioned artists. After the short intro track "Insacred" ends "Sacrament of Fiends" immediately establishes that all of the above is true. Diabolic are especially influenced by early Morbid Angel, but there is a definite early Deicide influence heard here and there too. So this is predominatly fast-paced and technically well played death metal featuring intelligible aggressive growling vocals, lightning fast riffing (and occasionally also mid-paced heavy sections), blistering screaming chromatic guitar solos, and a heavy and brutal pounding rhythm section.
"Supreme Evil" features a powerful, raw, and well sounding production, which perfectly suits the material. It´s clear enough for all instruments to stand out, though still gritty enough to provide the kind of rawness you want to hear on a release in this genre. Upon conclusion "Supreme Evil" is a prime example of US death metal, although it would be wrong to say that this release features anything original. Had "Supreme Evil" been released 8-10 years earlier it could have been a classic US death metal release, but by the end of the 90s very few people payed attention to releases like this anymore (hence the relatively obscure profile of Diabolic). Original or not, being late to the game...etc. quality is quality to my ears, and fans of early 90s US death metal (and in particular Morbid Angel), should definitely give this one a listen. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.