If you would have told me a few years ago that I’d be reviewing Dave Ellefson’s new Death Metal band I probably would have thought that you were fucking with me. Megadeth has always been a favorite of mine and I have always enjoyed catching him live. He’s been a thrash titan for years, is heavily involved with his Christian faith and just comes off as a laid-back and mellow dude. The last type of project I thought I’d ever see him as a part of is a skull-crunching Death Metal group.

 

However, Dieth is no joke. Besides Ellefson the band includes some major heavy weights in the extreme metal scene with drummer Michal Lysejko (Entombed AD) and singer/guitarist Guilherme Miranda (Decapitated). Dieth’s music comes in hard and thrashy with plenty of cool groovy bass lines, punishing drums and thrashing riffs.

 

To Hell And Back (Napalm) opens with its title track; an acoustic performance. Just when you are about to get comfortable with the ongoing mellow tones, Dieth cranks up the death metal meter to the max and slams into a savage and crushing assault. On ‘Don’t Get Mad…Get Even!’ the band showcases more of their thrash-inspired side complete with excellently shouted group vocals that will get your fists pumping. ‘Wicked Disdain’ and ‘Mark of Cain’ are your standard death metal fare, full of plenty of killer riffs and solos. ‘Heavy is the Crown’ has the band moving more in a groove/doom direction with slower pace and clean vocals.

 

 

Dieth takes full advantage of Ellefson’s bass abilities by letting the bass really stand out to the front here. Dieth also takes Ellefson out his usual spot on the sideline by giving him his first full lead vocal performance on ‘Walk With Me Forever’ – don’t expect any gutturals here. Instead, we get a somber but impassioned vocal performance. Ellefson has a pretty nice voice that he’s been hiding from us all these years. The song comes off strong and emotional and has all the makings of a radio-friendly hit. While I actually really dig it, it feels a little uneven with the rest of the skull splitters included here.

The rest of the album takes you back to regularly scheduled Death Metal anthems with the last few tracks of the album. ‘The Hall of the Hanging Serpents’ is a nice, viscous track with crunching rhythms and some tasty solos. ‘Severance’ closes up the album with a nice and somber melody.

 

Dieth have plenty of things going for them with their debut album. While the group’s core sound is rooted in Death Metal, the band shows that they aren’t afraid to take chances with songs such as ‘Heavy Is The Crown’ and ‘Walk With Me Forever’, which are worth checking out this album for, alone.

 

Buy the album here:

https://www.napalmrecordsamerica.com/dieth

 

8 / 10

ANDREW RISCH