Diotima

iTunes Review

Krallice is known for being a technically proficient group that exercises more restraint than bravado. But with its third album, Diotima, the New York black metal band gives fans what they want by letting its collective talent run wild. Here Krallice explores more sonic topography, starting with the two-minute instrumental intro, where guitars birth a glaciered soundscape shrouded in a dark, aural atmosphere. This bleeds into “Inhume,” where some of Krallice’s most intricate (and punishing) guitar work drives the arrangements into ever-changing progressive territories. Spanning more than 12 minutes, “The Clearing” almost recalls early-'90s British shoegazing, with walls of blissed-out guitar noise and regal marching rhythms; then bassist Nick McMaster screams like a man pleading for his life. The lengthy “Litany of Regrets” contrasts brutal sonic pulverizing with beautifully intricate arrangements.