As is so often the case with bands, the matter of finding the right lineup meant that Die Ego’s start was a slow one, spending 2015-2018 evolving through numerous drummers before emerging with a first demo. And it’s taken until now to deliver their debut album, which promises a blend of Pantera and Metallica, Slipknot and Alice in Chains, and a whole lot more in between.
Rolling piano broods by way of a backdrop to children’s voices at the start of the title track that kicks things off – and kick off it does, with a really deep, grunty bass and superfast chords that clearly owes a massive debt to Metallica. But it shows a keen awareness of texture and dynamic, with some nice atmospheric moments in between the full-throttle onslaught and the obligatory guitar solo that’s suitably epic.
Gabe Scapigliati’s capable of a fearsome shrieking roar when he’s not doing guttural growls or gritty yelling, which adds real range to their sound, although they don’t deviate particularly far from established and well-worn formulas, but that’s hardly cause for criticism: thrash-orientated metal, however much else it accommodates and assimilates in its formulation, is dependent on a battery of churning riffs, and across the 8 cuts on ‘Culto’, Die Ego bring the riffs.
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‘The Grave’ grinds deep and dark and borders on the industrial in its insistent chug, and Scapigliati goes full demonic against some heavy-hitting beats courtesy of Dave Grosz. It’s clear that being a three-piece keeps them tight and focused as they power on to the gritty six-and-a-half minute finale of ‘I Promise’, which slows the pace to a crawl at first before crashing in with the crushing riffery and multiple passages on what is a complex composition and a hard-hitting beast of a tune.
‘Culto’ may not be big in surprises, but it is big on power and big on impact.
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