Mord - Necrosodomic Abyss
Osmose Productions
Black Metal
8 songs (37:04)
Release year: 2008
Mord, Osmose Productions
Reviewed by Goat

As anyone with half a brain could guess from the album art, featuring a distinctly worried-looking Jesus being torn apart by demons, Polish duo Mord play an especially nasty form of Black Metal. Formed in 1999, the band (based in Norway, presumably to get as many bad vibrations as possible) chose jangley, blunt-edged, almost catchy riffing instead of the ambience of past heroes like Darkthrone and Burzum. The songs on Necrosodomic Abyss, Mord’s second full-length release, are numbered rather than named, and it’s hard not to apply this reasoning to the music itself as everything does tend to blur together, songs having little to distinguish themselves.

What saves the band from the pit which many sub-par Black Metal bands find themselves cast into is that there’s enough attitude here to sink a small ship. Songs rattle along without breaking new territory, but pumping those riffs and blastbeats out as if their lives depended on it. Each ‘opus’ on offer has more than enough nasty Blackness in it to satisfy the most ardent of trenchcoat-wearing goatdevotees, and the occasional instrumental flourish stops Mord from disappearing into the abyss forever – nothing that would worry Dream Theater, but enough to keep you listening.

Ultimately, it’s the same old story – this would be good if it was released ten or fifteen years ago and was played to a Black Metal newcomer on acid, but if you listen to Black Metal at all you’ll have heard this done before. Most Black Metal is about the traditional aspect, after all, whether it’s the adherence to or disregard of, and Mord isn’t about to rip up the rulebook just yet. It’s easy to imagine a hardened Black Metalhead passing this by, only for someone unfamiliar with it all to buy it for the cover art and to be blown away, prompting changes in dress, lifestyle and belief system. If you’re the former, rest assured you’re missing little. If the latter, then you’re in for a hell of a ride – just remember that there are far better bands than Mord awaiting your discovery.

MySpace
Killing Songs :
Opus I, Opus IV, Opus V
Goat quoted 65 / 100
0 readers voted
Average:
 0
You did not vote yet.
Vote now

There are 0 replies to this review. Last one on Mon May 05, 2008 5:25 pm
View and Post comments