DISCHORDIA were formed in 2014 and they are from Oklahoma City. The progressive technical brutal Death Metal outfit released two EPs and "Triptych" is their third full-length album. It was recorded at Wasted Space and Castle Dischordia and Colin Marston (BEHOLD THE ARCTOPUS, DISRYTHMIA) did the mixing and mastering. The album has a length of about 56 minutes. It was released via Indian label Transcending Obscurity Records, which has a number of Black, Death, and Doom Metal bands among their roster. The sonic journey of DISCHORDIA is remarkable from their early days with a core-type of Death Metal towards their progressive, technical, and dissonance Death Metal. "Triptych" is more than an album, it is a state, it is a reflection, and most importantly, it is a concept. A triptych is a three-folded panel painting, where typically the middle panel is the largest. It started to be part of the early Christian art and can be seen as altar paintings in many churches in the world. Many painters have been using it and among them was Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch. DISCHORDIA use the triptych as a concept to their outer space journey on "Triptych": the album cover shows a triptych, and the song titles on the album are structured as triptych too, although in the DISCHORDIA version all three parts have roughly an equal length.

The concept itself is not a new one, I guess ex-CELTIC FROST icon Thomas Gabriel Fischer (TRIPTYKON) could write a whole book on it. The first panel of the triptych is called "The Observer" and consists of "Minds Of Dust", "Bodies Of Ash", and "Spirits Of Dirt". To experience DISCHORDIA, the listener should be prepared to push the own boundaries as the musicians do with their sound and lyrics. "Minds Of Dust" is bludgeoning with plenty of distortions in rhythm, dissonant guitar riffing, relentless drumming that seems to follow its own patterns at times, and brutal growling vocals, which are often between the medium and low end of the guttural range. The focus of the sound is put on the riffing, there are no extended lead guitar parts. "Minds Of Dust" is the official lyric video and the YouTube link is given below. "Bodies Of Ash" has a few more leads, but more importantly, it reveals one typical feature of the album: the interludes, here as a sequence of piano and flute played in disharmony. "Spirits Of Dirt" is the most pummeling contribution of the first panel with another atmospheric interlude introduced shortly after the frantic start. The pace of the track goes more towards mid-tempo after the restart, but with lots of blast-beat parts. The guitar riffing is once again the leading element of the track, while the growls keep everything nicely together.

There is an extended lead guitar contribution near the end of the first panel, which gives "Spirits Of Dirt" an extra dimension. The second panel of the triptych "The Chariot" consists of "The Wheel", "The Whip", and "The Carriage". "The Wheel" starts with building atmosphere and tension, before it erupts into a merciless hammering, where in particular Josh Fallin does a tremendous job with some iconic drumming. The festival of dissonances in the riffing goes into its next round with almost some Jazz inspired sequences. Listening to "The Wheel" is certainly challenging. "The Whip" seamlessly continues with all the distortions, and for a change, there are a few more lead guitars present in the track. "The Carriage" starts with another acoustic intro to increase tension, before it kick-starts after more than two minutes. The opening riffing is very powerful and dark and so are the vocals. The vocals include a few higher pitched screams and the drumming is once again at its very best. "The Carriage" offers some of the best riffing on the album and is for me one of the album highlights. The third panel of the triptych "The Escape" consists of "Panopticon", "Purifying Flame", and "Le Petite Mort".

"Panopticon" is another pummeling with focus on the dissonant riffing, but also on crunching bass lines and keeping an incredible pace for most of the track. There is a disharmonic interlude halfway through the track, before the blast-beats and the crushing guitars continue with their business. "Purifying Flame" is probably the perfect combination between Death Metal and Free Jazz. In other words, it is Free Jazz with Metal instruments and vocals. The riffing here is extraordinary and the drumming is second to none. However, highlight is the overall sound, including the switches from dissonance driven tech Death to Jazz inspired interludes. "Purifying Flame" is surely the album highlight. The album closes with "Le Petite Mort" and the sound fits perfectly into the framework of the other eight tracks with a very powerful and grim end of the track.

DISCHORDIA delivered an excellent album. It is a perfect combination of progressive, technical, brutal, and dissonance Death Metal. "Triptych" is the best album of DISCHORDIA so far and the highlight is the sonic experience, the conceptual and lyrical arrangements. All this is evidence for excellent songwriting. "Triptych" is a multi-layered album and it is a challenge to listen to. The album is very well produced. DISCHORDIA set the bar very high with the release of "Triptych" and the album should belong into the collection of every technical Death Metal fan.