Disma appeared out of the blue in 2009 with their demo titled The Vault of Membros, and quickly gained attention attributed to the fact that it comprises of musicians from Incantation and Funebrarum. The fact that Disma is fronted by Craig Pillard was enough to send waves of excitement down any old school Death Metal fan's spine.
As with their demo, Disma prove with this album, that the immense amount of attention they got had a lot more to do with their music, and not with the mere presence of members from respected bands. Towards the Megalith is musically similar to a lot of new old school Death Metal bands - heavy, downtuned-as-fuck, and production similar to a mid-90s band. The riffs are slow to mid-paced, and the faster riffs are similar to those played by Disciples of Mockery. They evoke a sense of evil, not unlike a lot of early 90s Death Metal bands. The drumming is sharp and precise, which is a good break from the sloppiness shown, sometimes purposely, by a lot of Death Metal drummers. The snare sound is perfect and loud enough to support the crushing wall of sound created by the riffs and bass, and the bass drums sound neither too high nor too low in the mix. Craig Pillard's vocal delivery is sinister, low, and guttural as always. Though nothing compared to what he did on Mortal Throne of Nazarene, they can still be compared to dragging a heavy boulder on a gravelly road. The songwriting here is much more refined than that in their demo, and the songs are a lot more memorable and even catchy. The album includes the 3 songs from Vault of Membros, but with a much more refined sound, which isn't a bad thing, considering they sound even heavier and better than they did on the demo. The doom element is clear and obvious in this album, and is apparently something Craig Pillard really digs, as evidenced by the fact that almost all the bands he has been in, and has been involved with the songwriting, have slow, doomy sections.
Disma continue their assault throughout the album, constantly demolishing eardrums with their bass-heavy riffs A highly recommended album and among the best albums of 2011, right up there with Autopsy's Macabre Eternal. and powerful drum sound, with intense vocal delivery. The album cover artist did a very good job with the album art, as that is a near-perfect description of Disma's sound on this album - evil, horrifying and heavy. Disma is a perfect band for fans of old school Death Metal in the vein of Incantation or anything that sounds like it was recorded while performing occult rituals.
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