While taking a close look at this album's cover artwork I thought it was a Heavy/Power/Epic Metal band, but as it seems what I faced upon listening to To Praise With Persecution was pure Death Metal. The underground offers some great stuff and I hope this album is one of those good stuff.

DISCERN was formed in 1997 in Dallas, TX. The band is consisted by only two members, Billy Frazer, who was also the drummer for the now defunct Death Metal band OBLATION, and Rick Hunter Martinez, who is responsible for the lead guitar work in this album.

The band debuted with an EP in 1998 and as it seems it had to spend 9 years to release its first full-length work. The album is typical (and totally common) Death Metal with mediocre compositions and vocals that need a lot of work in order to be ready to fit in a Death Metal release. The song structure the band has used is a bit asymmetric and there are also some leads here and there that do not fit the album's atmosphere. Martinez may be a really good guitarist, but there is no point in spending two minutes (The Anointing) to play a blah blah solo.

The production is definitely not the best I have ever come across, and the funny thing is that Sterling Winfield (KING DIAMOND, PANTERA, DAMAGEPLAN) is behind the whole mixing/mastering thing, and the only conclusion I can make out of To Praise With Persecution is that DISCERN have great potential and they just didn't manage to take full advantage of it. I believe in these guys and I know they can release something way better than this. Until then...