Time Signature Forgotten soul...

Genre: depressive black metal

This is probably music which will not appeal to everybody, and music which you have to be in a special mood to enjoy completely. We are dealing with depressive metal which very successfully expresses pure misery - but, unlike some of the other depressive metal bands I have heard (admittedly, I haven't heard that many), there is no feeling of self-pity or anything like that here. It is just pure pain and desperation.

The tracks on this album are rather long with an average length of about 15 minutes, I reckon. It is only 'Cold and Grey' og the 2011 reissue bonus track 'Death Serenity' which clock in at less than 13 minutes (they are both around six minutes of length). In addition to being long, they are quite minimalistic and very repetitive, consisting of a couple of simple, and very melancholic sounding figures, being repeated a lot. This repetition is an important ingredient in the overall tortured feel and desolate atmosphere of the album, but it also means that when there are changes in a tune, it is something that the listener really notices. Changes aside, this is music that you can really lose yourself in, as you embark on a musical journey through the darker recesses of the human emotional landscape.

The vocals consists exclusively of tortured screams. Think of a person who has lost everything, and has stepped on a rusty nail. The vocals obviously fit the overall feel of the music like a glove.

If you like dark and depressive music which is oppressive and desolate, and you are looking for an alternative to doom metal, you might want to check this release out.

Vehemency Albeit mostly known for his main projects Horna and Sargeist, Shatraug has a ton of various side projects. Of all those, Mortualia is the one focusing on desolate atmosphere, torturing repetition, dragging tempo, the vision of a hopeless future: in other words, depressive black metal. The self-titled debut was originally released back in 2007 but it is now getting a re-release treatment by Moribund Cult, though I am basing my review on the original Northern Sky Productions version of which I’ve possessed a copy for a couple of years already.

Mortualia doesn’t fall to the most common problems of depressive black metal. Whereas many contenders turn out to sound just pitiful in their angst, this album does not dwell in self-pity at all. This is cold, distant, murky, and with a great dose malicious melodies and riffs withouht any clichéd over-melodic tunes. The first monster, ”The Blue Silence” clocking at seventeen minutes, is probably the most melancholic piece of the bunch, followed by another similar track ”In Bleak Loneliness”, after which ”Cold and Grey” kicks in with murky menace: gone are the wistful sounds of the first tracks. The minimal ”Devoid of Warmth” is a strong addition to the whole, but pales in comparison to the last piece, ”Forgotten Soul”, of which beginning riff is so damn dramatic that it truly chills.

To elaborate the album’s sound further, you can probably already guess that Mortualia isn’t professionally producted, and that is only good. Both drums and guitars are quite remote sounding but without any unnecessary amounts of reverb. Shatraug’s vocals are very, very high-pitched and semi-clean wailings which might turn off some and, to be honest, I wasn’t very keen on them at first, but they’ve grown on me over the years. I still prefer his sound on the next full-length Blood of the Hermit on which he gets raspier, though.

If you’re looking for a proper and authentic piece of depressive black metal, I would recommend Mortualia. Perhaps it is not a cornerstone album of the subgenre, but a worthy addition to anyone’s collection who claims to be a fan of the style, as the ringing coldness and joy-killing desolation is surely to make an impact. In case the vocals are too much to bear, then look into Blood of the Hermit, and even that glitch has been then fixed.