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Mortemia: Misere Mortem Gothic Metal Napalm Records March 9th, 2010
- "The New Desire" MP3 (NapalmRecords.com) Originally posted on January 26th, 2010 | ||
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Review
Misere Mortem is the debut album by the Gothic Metal act Mortemia, and, judging by the track listing alone, it's clear that the band is trying to be rather artsy with their release thanks to each song starting with "the". While this isn't a bad thing with Gothic Metal acts at all, the band does a nice job in trying to stand out a bit from some of the generic ideas that follow the bands in this style. But, does the band's attempt to be a bit creative with the overall approach and atmosphere of the album wind up damaging it? Misere Mortem is not that bad an album at all, it is just rather laid back and, at times, can be rather bland. There is a heavy focus on the keyboards of this release, moreso then anything else, which is rather saddening as this release does have potential pretty much around the board. One listen to "The Pain Infernal and the Fall Eternal" and you'll realize the band can pull off some great guitar work, as with some of the other tracks on this release. However, not all the tracks have some of the heavier and more impressive guitars. Much of the album is very laid back musically, almost soothing at times, with some splended guitar solos and also offers some operatic background vocals to try to amp up anything epic the song brings, as well as some impressive gutteral and rhaspy Black Metal-esque vocals that compliment the music very well. But the main issue here would be the rather bland sound of the album. While the band's attempt to be somewhat creative in the Gothic field is a success, it seems as if the group can't quite pull it off. It's good, with some awesome tracks, but by the time you hit "The Malice of Live's Cruel Ways" you'll start to feel like you've pretty much heard the whole thing already. The music on here follows a pretty similar pattern with very little changing from song to song, especially with the keyboards that will often sound repetative and are extremely simple. "The Pain Infernal and the Fall Eternal" is a great song that shines on the release thanks to the guitar work, and "The Wheel of Fire" is easily the best track off the entire release. The end of the album is a little more entertaining then the start, but not by much. "The New Desire" is a pretty good song that will hold your attention, and "The Vile Bringer of Self Destructive Thoughts" thanks to some changes in the guitars and a little extra keyboard talent, as well as vocal talent, thrown in. The closing track "The Candle At the Tunnel's End" is another song worth checking out, sounding much like the first track, but uses some heavy distortion on the vocals. Sadly, this one isn't all that entertaining either. If you're looking for something to relax with, Misere Mortem is worth a couple spins, but due to the repetative nature of the music, the album falls pretty short of it's desired mark. The band has the potential to create an excellent album, but until they can bring a little more variety to the music, it'll be as if every album is like one song just altered and on repeat. With a few tracks worth checking out, this isn't by far one of the worst releases you can pick up, but it'll wind up collecting dust rather quickly.
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