Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Mortum - The Rites of Depopulation

Ahhh yes...I feel the low-fi grit flowing back into my arteries clogging them with their porous shards and I must say, despite my failure-inevitable heart, it feels splendid.


I apparently have an affinity for New Jersey's black metal scene, or we're just popular there and they're the only ones that like us, either way, we have Mortum, allies with Nuklearenpest whom we interviewed and whom I'll also be reviewing their new demo soon. Mortum have released a demo and an EP prior to this full-length and their split with Nuklearenpest. They've had a number of line-up changes but have now settled into a three-piece that seems to be working wonders.



Mortum deliver the riffs in this misanthropic salute to the demise of humanity. It's just my cup of tea and although I don't drink much tea, I do drink a lot of black metal and I'd be glad to pour a cup of this particular brand any day. As much as I enjoy the atmospheric black metal and the literally timeless solemn black boot shuffle of doom, it is quite refreshing to get a tape that doesn't consist of 10-15-20 minute long songs. It gets tiring to review albums that take an hour or more to listen to, especially when you listen to them multiple times in a row, so The Rites of Depopulation is a welcome breathe of air.

Here's some lyrics for ya, enjoy:
"My limbs bleak and bare
My blood thirsts for air 
My heart is black and empty

My existence sleeps in denial

My survival so weak and vile

My body is forgotten and destroyed"

(Credited to Mystic Yautja(drummer) track - "Forgotten and Destroyed")

The cover image, song titles (ie. Prophecizing the Fall of Mankind, Forgotten and Destroyed, lyrics, and music all reek of hatred and despair, two things that make us all feel alive in an otherwise dead plain. If you don't like that...get the fuck out of black metal.

Although this album doesn't conjure any particular images other than corpse-painted grown-ups frolicking maddeningly (seems contradictory) it does bring a palatable sound that seems to be an ode toward the second-wave origins and a step away from the (now getting)(yes, poor English I'm aware) overly redundant USBM scene. I'll let you dissect the rest of this tasty whore like the little Jack the Rippers that you are. Follow the fantastic link buttons below to discover more!






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