Since I started this ol’ humble webzine back in 2020, I’ve reviewed no shortage of new age bands attempting their best spin on the ’80s black metal sound. From the Venom votaries and Bathory believers, to the Sodom students and Death SS disciples, I’ve heard ’em all, and I’ve dug most of ’em. Interestingly enough, similar to the NWOTHM scene that is well into its 10 to 15th year, give or take, I feel like we’ve reached a point where we’re going to start getting first wave black metal worship bands who sound less like first wave BM proper and more like the flagship revivalists of the past decade or so. If you don’t believe me, look no further than today’s band in review.
Lying somewhere between the retro Show No Mercy-esque blackened speed of Bütcher and the gothic iciness of Tribulation is Morbyda: The latest Dying Victims discovery who have thrown this here metal journalist quite the curveball with their debut album, Under the Spell. When it comes to releases of this nature, I usually know exactly what I’m going to get, bracing myself for some no-nonsense, full speed ahead, speedometer-shattering ragers travelling at the face-melting pace of 666 MPH. Indeed, there are a handful of those scattered about Under the Spell, but even at its most rapid fire moments, never fully crosses that unadulterated black-speed threshold. Rather Under the Spell is a blackened traditional metal album, littered with high speed outliers and other assorted metallic oddities.
Mercyful Fate becomes an obvious comparison early on from the eerie guitarwork of the ironically titled opener, “Evil” (not to be confused with the MF classic of the same name). Guitarists Julez and Mogli, the latter of whom also handles vocals, know how to concoct those tense blackened riffs and frostbitten guitar melodies, both of which are the bread and butter of cuts like “Mother of Decay”, “Sacrifice”, and “Under Her Spell”. While these gloomy tunes might not be as blatantly goth as say the aforementioned Tribulation or Unto Others, one could certainly grasp why an album of this nature would fall into the same wheelhouse as said bands.
With all due respect to these black-goth forays, my favorite moments of Under the Spell are the ones on which Morbyda double down on the traditional and speed metal leanings of their sound. Meat and potatoes headbangers like “Open the Gates of Fire” and “The Curse” storm through your stereo like a satanic Enforcer, while the aptly titled “Turning the Wheel of Steel” even veers into early USPM territory, boasting adventurous guitarwork akin to Jag Panzer or Omen. Ironically, the title track is the closest the band gets to unadulterated blackened speed, before closing with one more headbanger fright-fest in “Morbid Ways of Dying”.
While the songs that make up Under the Spell are decent, and Morbyda certainly earn points for individuality, the only thing that doesn’t drive this effort home for me is the cohesion of the body as a whole. Dare I say there’s too many contrasting flavors? If this was an album of 8 songs in the vein of “Open the Gates of Fire” and “Turning the Wheel of Steel”, I’d probably be glazing this thing the way Paul Heyman does Brock Lesnar. Instead, I’m left somewhere between enjoyment, bemusement, and intrigue of where Morbyda will go from here. Hopefully anywhere but the “one and done” wasteland, because the drive is there!
6 out of 10
Label: Dying Victims Productions
Genre: Black/Heavy Metal
For fans of: Tribulation, Bütcher, Nite