Diatheke – …And The Word Was God
Release Date: 21st March 2025
Label: Rottweiler Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Progressive Christian Death Metal
FFO: Ne Obliviscaris, Cynic, Black Crown Initiate, Ihsahn, Extol.
Review By: Andy Spoon
Ok, I think one of the things that I need to address is that this album has a very “This is Solid State Vol. 2” vibe. You may do with that, whatever you choose. There is a particularly distinct style of mixing that tends towards the stylistic choices of the Solid State records from 2000-2015, which might be a major influence on the band, given their particular mission. I actually had thought of this long before I had read into the band’s personal beliefs, for which I pose no judgment at all. If anything, I think that it’s important to bring Yaweh’s perspective back into metal, as he tends to be pretty metal AF in the Old Testament. That being said, there’s a good amount of Living Sacrifice, Norma Jean, and Extol in the melodic influences on …And the Word was God. Perhaps mileage may vary, but that’s my observation, and I’m sticking to it.
There’s a lot of excellent work here, and I really mean that. Other than some dated production, I think that the overall tone of the album is meaty and raw, paying lots of homage to progressive death from the early 2000s and mixed influences in the heavy Christian scene. There is a distinct amount of genre-bending that is prevalent in many of the tracks, on par with a progressive album. I think that one of the things that lends itself to the progressive nature of the album is the blend of mixes, from thrashy, simplistic Voivod-esque breakdowns, to metalcore melodic choruses, to symphonic DM runs on the keys, and power metal guitar face-melting, which is all fused together well. I really like how the undertone of the band’s basic musical identity has a distinctively heavy death metal or deathcore, to which it always returns when the variations wrap up.
I think that there is some incongruity with a couple of the tracks having some of the “Worship” feel while some of the other tracks have a much heavier and more aggressive tone. The major key tracks can definitely work with the progressive tone, which is why I’m not really complaining. However, it seems like one or two of the tracks have moments where I start to wonder if the song is going to go into a cheesy worship music refrain, which did occur on the final track “The Coronation”, to my dismay. I was really hoping that we weren’t going to have to deal with that. However, I think that it’s important to give Diatheke the credit they deserve, as they are making a thematic album that is meant to illustrate the glory of an almighty deity. I think that having listened to my fair share of crappy Christian metal, I might be super-jaded.
This album will absolutely reach out to fans of Christian extreme metal and progressive metal. There’s no shortage of Biblical imagery and language. The creation account is the central theme of the album, which can absolutely be metal as hell in some ways. After all, there are more than a few albums which are based on Lovecraftian themes or satanic imagery. If people are enjoying Sleep Token’s canonized deity, why not one who’s much more established? Metal is about art, not just anger and aggression. That being said, I think that the album could have used a little bit better production and mixing, especially on the lead guitar, which sounded like it was recorded. There were tons of amazing riffs throughout the album which seemed to be perfect. On the other hand, there were moments where the lead guitar seems over-squeezed, like it was mixed in without consideration for the needs of the track as a whole, something that I feel like might have been an afterthought, since the guitarist clearly knows his stuff.
I really enjoyed the long track times and in-depth song structures, but I really felt like there was something to be desired in some of the mix/master as well as a couple of on-the-nose “christ rock” moments that will really only appeal to a tiny subsection of extreme metal fans. Overall I wanted to like …And the Word Was God a little more than I did. The praise and worship segment on the last track really put a sour taste in my mouth, despite the rest of the track being extremely diverse. I certainly give it a pass, but it almost felt like the band was trying to sneak a little religious proselytization into the track. However, that’s only my take, and I’m just one former youth group kid who gets triggered easily when it comes to preachy metal.
I think that if you are a fan of progressive death, this is going to be a fun listen. If you are a fan of Solid State bands like Extol, Living Sacrifice, Norma Jean, etc, this is going to be right up your alley. For the general metal community, it has hits and misses, but definitely ends up being average-to-above-average as an offering to the world, avoiding being regular Christian metal cringe, giving evidence to the fact that the album and the band have thought a lot about the album and how they wanted it to sound. I can absolutely respect that.
(3 / 5)
