This has been a great week for death metal. Whether you prefer it on the dark side, or perhaps slightly more technical, new bands playing the old school sound have been absolutely killing it. And because great things come in threes, leave it to San Jose deathmongers Mortuous to even the score. Although the band’s existence dates back to 2009, I can honestly say I hadn’t heard their name until this past summer when they opened for Left to Die and Skeletal Remains. And even then, instead of checking them out, I stood outside like an idiot, jabber jawing with a few friends. In my defense, it was appropriately stuffier than a casket in Reggies that night, but I digress.
Had I taken roughly 40 minutes to give Mortuous a shot, I would’ve been exposed to some truly feral death metal that combines the dismal tenebrosity of Incantation with the festering gore of Autopsy. At least that’s what I’m assuming by the sound of their latest album, Upon Desolation. Who knows? Maybe their past efforts are more melodic or technical affairs? If you haven’t figured out by now, I’m being a smartass. These dudes clearly prefer their death metal 100-proof, emphasizing chaos and unrest along the way.
Whereas many death metal bands these days like to open their albums with a “calm before the storm” soundscape, something eerie and unnerving to set the tone, Mortuous wastes no time with “Carve”: An old school death metal rager specializing in darkness and filth. One can’t help but notice how low both the riffs and vocals are. Yes, I know we’re talking about death metal here, but this is some seriously abysmal shit even by death metal standards. There’s definitely a nod to Incantation in the arrangement and delivery. The same can be said for the misanthropic “Nothing” and miserable “Metamorphosis”, the latter channeling some Mental Funeral era Autopsy with the inclusion of doomy breakdowns.
As Upon Desolation progresses, things only become fiercer, deadlier, and more precise. “Days of Grey” embodies this ethos with its breakneck thrashing, repulsive grooves, obliterating blast beats, and face melting solos. “Defiled by Fire” boasts a hint of Deicide in its hellish riffs, and “Burning Still…” pushes the limits of speed and sanity with its grinding assault. Similar to “Days of Grey”, there are some minute groove undertones on “Ash and Dismay”, but they are exactly that; not nearly as pronounced as say Sanguisugabogg or Undeath. The grotesque “Graveyard Rain” closes this infernal affair out, going into total overload mode one last time for good measure.
There’s no doubt that after listening to Upon Desolation, one feels, for a lack of better terminology, desolated. Mortuous have managed to create a well rounded death metal album that, while displaying a small array of influences, never leans to one extreme or the other. One could argue this to be a death/doom release, with all its slow, pseudo-atmospheric doom passages, but it’s not. They are Mortuous and they play death metal.
7 out of 10
Label: Carbonized Records
Genre: Death Metal
For fans of: Incantation, Autopsy, Necrot