DIESTO For Water Or Blood [LP]

DIESTO has ravaged the lands with their pummeling riffery through a pile of releases and countless shows, their determination heralding the band as one of Portland’s busiest heavy acts. While their earlier days showcased a more noiserock-built flamboyance, over time the aggro has eroded a bit, the sharper edges of their rock now worn down to a smoother doom rock style, while all of the heaviness remains. Their fifth full-length, For Water or Blood, finds the band continuing its journey West, its storied and troubled past dragged through the Cascadian forest to the Pacific Ocean, treading and crawling slowly but steadily ahead as it cuts a winding path of riffs deep into the heavy frontier with echoes of Zep III, Pompeiian Floyd, and Masters of Reality bouncing between mountains of Sleep and Yob doom boosted by heavy hooks, chiming intertwined guitars, expressive vocals, and surprising attacks of angular noise rock and dissonance. The recording by Adam Pike (Red Fang, Norska, Nether Regions) at Toadhouse showcases the band's live prowess and love of pedal-free amplifier tone -- the album’s hymns tracked live and straight up with minimal overdubs -- making For Water or Blood an arduous but adventurous journey into the unknown using the wisdom of the ages, its enthralling cover art sanctioned to Sam Ford (Wizard Rifle, Black Cobra). 180-gram vinyl including a digital download card. [Eolian Empire]