UMUR
"Promo Tape '92" is the third demo recording by Finnish death metal act Mordicus. The demo was independently released in 1992. It follows the release of the June 1991 "Grown Under Shade of Sorrow" demo. Seven tracks were recorded during the sessions, but only four were included on this demo. "Promo Tape '92" was not sold in large numbers by Mordicus, who instead opted to concentrate on sending the promo tape to labels. Wild Rags Records eventually got a copy of the demo, and offered Mordicus a deal to release the full session (all seven tracks) as the "Wrathorn" tape only label demo.
Stylistically the material on "Promo Tape '92" is the natural continuation of the Carcass influenced death metal also found on the "Grown Under Shade of Sorrow" demo. It´s obvious that Mordicus have grown as musicians and composers though, and the sound production values are also even better than they were on the already well produced "Grown Under Shade of Sorrow" demo. While the Carcass influence is undeniably very strong, Mordicus still manage to put their own melancholic Finnish touch to the songs, which all feature slow- or mid-paced parts with melancholic or morbid lead guitar work and even a whiff of epic ethnic folk melodies. The latter is heard on the opening minute of "A Thorn in Holy Flesh", where I´m immediately reminded of Amorphis. Early Paradise Lost is another influence heard here and there.
So, it´s fair to say that Mordicus have created a rather unique sounding release which combines the brutality and rawness of death metal and goregrind with the epic and melancholic atmosphere of death-doom metal. It´s quite the fascinating hybrid sound, which really shouldn´t work, but somehow Mordicus manage to seamlessly combine the elements of their sound in a natural way. Upon conclusion "Promo Tape '92" is another positive evolutionary step in the formative years of Mordicus' career, and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is fully deserved.
