renkls A rather slight album, if you consider it an album and not a single 35 minute track - but for the single track it is, it's quite catchy, albeit rather repetitive because of it.

The title track (which is a rather amusing title too) uses one underlying rhythm to drive the whole album, then adds various elements to the piece as it progresses. I hear piano, melodic elements and some feedback experimentation weave in and out. The lyrics, though somewhat sparse, are actually a highlight point for me. Despite being firmly in black metal territory, I had no issue discerning the words at all, as they seemed to tread the line between singing and spoken word.

While at its core, pretty aesthetically simple, it's still not a bad album in itself, just gives the feeling of being overly slight for a full length release. At 35 minutes, the length doesn't feel overlong at least. As an album/song, you could do a lot worse though.

Vehemency While I wasn’t so stoked about Massemord’s earlier release, namely the short EP Notes of Antihate Profound, this latest output, a true name monster for sure, grabs my interest on a totally different level. As soon as the first sounds of the fading-in instruments are heard on The Madness Tongue Devouring Juices of Livid Hope, the listener is in for a 35-minute hypnotizing ride.

A down-tuned guitar rhythm pattern is the basis behind the droning, rather slow-tempo, long song. It’s menacing, simple and indeed repetitive, but never boring - much thanks to the intricate yet not too technical drumming and, most importantly, the melodic ideas that are brought on top of the pulsing rhythm section. A lot of interesting guitarwork is provided by the other guitarist while the other keeps going on with the heavy main rhythm. Occasional ethereal synth sounds are presented and at times the atmosphere builds up to semi-fast blastbeats. The singer Namtar’s convincing masculine low-range screams are similar to Mgła’s, and even generally the album reminds me surprisingly much of the aforementioned band.

The brooding atmosphere that possesses The Madness Tongue Devouring Juices of Livid Hope is impressive: the journey is quite an experience. Production-wise, the album is very well done with a professional, full and rough sound with many detailed levels. Musically, the album might not be the most original one but surely a real treat anyways. Just ignore the rather bad looking cover art and invest into this record if you are a fan of, say, Mgła that is this time stretched into an atmospheric, half an hour piece.