Review: Diminium – Dissonant

Style: Progressive Metal, Groove Metal (Mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Strapping Young Lad, Gojira, early Devin Townsend
Review by: Christopher
Country: Ukraine
Release date: 30 November, 2023

Without wanting to get too cynically McLuhanesque, in the age of social media a war is only as important as its entertainment value. The full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia, which began in February 2022, brought an onslaught of militarised horror to global media, and outpourings of support and solidarity with the Ukrainian people. And then, after a while, we forgot. We have a new war to go insane about now until that, too, bores us, and some new geopolitical drama comes to occupy our collective attention. But for those living amid the fray, these wars and their degradation remain an ever present reality: loved ones killed, neighbourhoods destroyed, and the constant threat of death and destruction looming overhead. 

No wonder Dimi Rich sounds so pissed off. Diminium is his brainchild where he composes and performs all instruments, and was conceived as an outlet for his anger and disgust regarding the war in his native Ukraine, as Russian shells were fired into his homeland and blackouts sunk him into darkness. Clearly influenced by such groovy, heavy luminaries as Strapping Young Lad and Gojira, that same sense of distilled aggression dominates on debut album Dissonant; rageful vocal performances, intense riffs, and frenetic soloing all adding up to a record best summed up as “heavy fucking metal”. 

Strapping Young Lad is the primary influence here, and a plethora of the riffs sound like they could be ripped straight from a lost SYL record, “Alert!” and “Survive” being prime examples. While Rich often lurks in the realms of homage, his own compositional acumen keeps Dissonant from ever feeling merely derivative. There are flourishes of real creativity, exemplified by “The Great Escape” which feels like Rich’s most original track, from its softer sections, the guest vocals of Exaltation, and some deeply satisfying shredding. “Розділені Кордонами”, meanwhile, is sung all in Ukrainian and opts for a more lamentory and sincere tone, though its invective and heaviness remain untrammelled. 

Part of the key to this compositional prowess is in Rich’s vocal performances: his harsh vocals recall both Joe Duplantier of Gojira, and a young Devin Townsend (particularly in his SYL days), while his cleans run solid ground too, the big vocal harmonies on “Havoc” recalling Stefan de Graef of Psychonaut and Hippotraktor. Additionally, he often swerves into a more theatrical delivery, more akin to Rob Halford or even Geoff Tate, as on “Light Up the Sky”, “Empowered” and “The Great Escape”. Rich’s sheer versatility allows Dissonant to temper its core sound with a lot of different musical flavours, the journey through angry metal stomp, chaotic thrashiness, and epic melodies of “Endless River” being a case in point.  

The core Strapping Young Lad inspired sound is punchy and enjoyable—such as the Devy-esque sweep solo on “Avoid A Void”, and “Alert!” which sounds like an SYL medley (I definitely hear shades of “Force Fed” and “Wrong Side”)—but Dissonant is at its best when setting itself apart, which, fortunately, is most of the time. Usually artists find themselves unable to step outside the shadow of their influences on their debut, but Rich does much to define his own sound here. Not every experiment works—the sudden funk groove with horns closing “Avoid A Void” is somewhat superfluous, and I’m not wholly convinced by “Empowered” despite its intriguing use of sax (contributed by guest saxophonist, Sam… just Sam)—but Rich dares to take risks and, most of the time, they pay off. 

DIminium’s influences are undeniably easy to tease out, but the genuine passion, rage, and compositional talent suffusing Dissonant, fuelled by a palpable sense of ire and grief, make it a surprisingly compelling listen. Certainly, if you miss the balls-to-the-wall, no-fucks-given headbang-inducing madness of Strapping Young Lad, you’ll find plenty to enjoy here, and there’s more beneath the surface that testifies to Rich’s future potential. 

Recommended tracks: Havoc, Розділені Кордонами, The Great Escape
You may also like: Ramage Inc., Monolith Zero, Hippotraktor
Final verdict: 7.5/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Metal-Archives page

Label: Independent

Diminium is:
– Dimi Rich (vocals, guitars, bass, drums, keyboards)