Diabolizer may be an unfamiliar name, but the band was formed by veterans of the Turkish death metal scene, and their blastbeat-driven style will turn the heads of any fan of true brutal death metal. Their debut full-length, Khalkedonian Death, has been eating up my speakers for weeks, so I reached out to the band to find out more about their history and the scene they emerged from. Vocalist Ali was kind enough to answer my questions.
Dreams of Consciouness: Please introduce Diabolizer - who are you, where are you from, and how do you describe the music you make?
Diabolizer is hailing from Kadıköy, Istanbul. We're all from Kadıköy and surrounding areas, most of us have been friends since the early 2000's. We've always intended to play the sickest and most hateful metal and we all are/have been involved in various other metal bands from our area. As for how we describe our music, it's simple: Death Metal.
DoC: Please give a brief history of Diabolizer - when did you form, and what did you set out to accomplish?
Diabolizer started around when Mustafa (guitars) and Aberrant (drums) were playing around new ideas which wouldn't quite fit their band Engulfed, so they both decided to form a new band to discover different styles of Death Metal. Shortly afterwards Malik (bass) and I (vocals) joined the band to complete the starting line-up. After a few more line-up changes now and then, we have kept the starting line-up with the addition of Can (rhythm guitars). So far we have released an EP back in 2016, our debut full-length was just released, and meanwhile we have played some quite killer gigs.
DoC: Members of Diaboizer also play in Hyperdontia and Decaying Purity. In terms of their music, how would you describe the differences between Diaboizer and your other projects?
Well I would say that Decaying Purity has a more Brutal Death Metal sound and Hyperdontia sounds a lot more "old school", if you wish. As for Diabolizer I would say our style is a bit more energetic and fast, releasing a lethal dose of burning energy and berserker rage.
DoC: Tell me about your songwriting process - how do you write songs? Do you write as a group, or do you have a principal songwriter?
Mustafa is responsible of the main composing process, everything else forms around his vision.
DoC: Your debut album, Khalkedonian Death, was just released. How long have you been working on the album? How would you compare it to your previous release, Apokalypse?
The writing process lasted about 3.5 years, and it took about 2 more years to finish all the recording and mixing/mastering. In comparison to Apokalypse, I guess it's safe to say that we have kept true to our sound, yet with the cumulative experience from the preceding years, we have developed our music to further depths while staying true to our sound.
DoC: Where/how did you record Khalkedonian Death? Was your recording affected by Covid restrictions?
The guitars were recorded by Mustafa at home, the bass were recorded by Malik in Copengahen where he lives, the vocals were recorded at the home studio of Serkan (Niron, of Engulfed/Decaying Purity), the drums were recorded by Ozan Yıldırım at Studio Dead House in Ankara. Ozan Yıldırım also handled the mixing and mastering.
Actually, Covid caused us to lose about 6 months. The original plan was to record the vocals at Dead House, too, around April 2020. It had to be postponed due to the pandemic of course and luckily Serkan built his own studio so I could record my parts without leaving Istanbul.
DoC: Which labels are releasing the album, and on what formats will it be available?
Everlasting Spew from Italy will be releasing it on CD, Me Saco Un Ojo from England will release it on LP, Desiccated Productions from Denmark will release it on tape. Also My Dark Desires Records from Brazil will be releasing a South-American version of the CD.
DoC: Tell me about the metal scene in Turkey. Other than your own projects, what bands should underground metal fans be aware of?
For a country with a population of about 85M, the local metal scene is not that rich. But there's a prolific underground movement putting out quality extreme metal releases, especially from Kadıköy and Ankara. Recommended bands, in no particular order would be Engulfed, Decaying Purity, Hellsodomy, Cenotaph, Decimation, Carnophage, Gore Dimension, Deggial (RIP), Godslaying Hellblast, Molested Divinity, Meshum, Archaic Vanity, Death Ritual, Thorncraft, to name a few.
DoC: I'm based in Malaysia, where the scene has a lot of problems with the government and religious authorities. Do you face similar challenges in Turkey? If so, how do you get around them?
I used to have contact with Envenom from Kuala Lumpur. Are those maniacs still around? If so, I'm sending my hails to them.
Turkey, isn't THAT religious if you're going to compare it to Malaysia or Indonesia (correct me if I'm wrong but especially the Banda Aceh region looks quite terrifying in terms of religious pressure), so we haven't had much troubles, not in the last 20 years anyway.
DoC: What's next for Diabolizer?
Looks like we are gearing towards the end of this fucking pandemic shit, so we're hoping to return to the stages in a few months. I have no idea when we'll be able to play outside Turkey yet, but I'm sure there'll be some wicked gigs before the end of this year.
Thank you so much for your support, and keep the blackest fire of underground blasphemy burning til the end of time!
Diabolizer on Facebook
Diabolizer on Bandcamp
Diabolizer on IG
Khalkedonian Death on CD through Everlasting Spew Records
Khalkedonian Death on vinyl through Me Saco Un Ojo Records
Death Fucking Metal:
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