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MORDRED
The Dark Parade

M-Theory Audio (2021)
Rating: 7.5/10

This has been a long time coming; San Francisco Bay Area experimental metalheads Mordred bringing their first full-length opus since 1994’s confused The Next Room.

I have to admit that having been a fan from day one, I was nervous in reviewing this album, especially since the major disappointment that was the tepid Volition EP from last year. Times change, but what really hurt was hearing a band somehow lost, compressed and, dare I say it, “predictable”, which is a word I’d never used in describing a band that was once so ahead of its time. However, it’s a new day and The Dark Parade is a new record, albeit one cloaked under an irritating title – all too close to My Chemical Romance for my liking – and cover art brimming like some glossy graphic novel. But let’s forget that and get onto the music.

Now, The Dark Parade is way too short of a record. In fact, it feels far shorter than the 40-minutes duration. But it kicks off with the snappy ‘Demonic #7’, a feisty, thrashy recycled tune straight from the halcyon days of the 1991 In This Life opus, which brings to mind the orgasmic strains of ‘Progress’ with its sharpness and DJ Pause’s consistently effective scratching, even though you know it’s coming.

Vocalist Scott Holderby introduces himself with a darker, deeper, choppy tone, whereby he raps rather than sings. But the chorus is effective and catchy and the music has a swift groove, although it’s not the sort of track I’d have chosen to kick-off the album.

Where Mordred’s real strength lies is in a track such as ‘Malignancy’; a devious, chuggy groove thrasher where Holderby remains on rap duties mixed with hardcore yelps. But it’s the chorus that brings the class to the table, emerging like some drifting, floating liquid ooze and evoking the same psyched-up subtlety which made the 1992 Vision EP so brilliant.

‘Malignancy’, featuring Testament’s Chuck Billy for extra beef, concerns the topic of the hideous disease cancer, and also contains some of Pause’s best work alongside Danny White’s sublime chords as Jeff Gomes hammers the skins. The chorus is so melodiously ascending and divine as it soars from the quizzical turntable teases and cranked up metallic fusion. For me, ‘Malignancy’ is classic Mordred and showcases a cutting edge and oomph sorely missing from the Volition opus.

‘I Am Charlie’ hits next, and again there’s that strong thrashing element. It’s crisp and angry, with Scotty Holderby again resorting to a rapping style of vocal injection, but thankfully as the track shifts on he resorts to those recognisable tones of old, albeit briefly. It’s not a weak track, but it is a tad generic, hinting at latter day Faith No More with the riffing.

In a sense, ‘Dragging For Bodies’ runs the same path, but this time the bass is sturdy and there’s some nice effects to bring a melodic twinkle. Holderby remains with those darker, smoky, soulful tones as the track drifts nicely to a memorable-ish chorus, but for me this reeks of “nu metal” flavour and stirs that Faith No More pot all too excessively.

Many of course will disagree, but The Dark Parade at the halfway point is a pin-pointer to mid-to-late 90s genre-splicing metal; think Anthrax in some of those dense heaps of technicality and dark, brooding soundsdcapes.

This is nowhere more apparent than on the near seven-minute title track which begins with an infectious street carnival-esque atmosphere and groove fuelled by Danny White and James Sanguinetti’s layered shreds, while Scott Holderby’s vocals are a melting of mid-range chops and mechanised drools. Behind him, the instruments fornicate wildly, and again hinting at some of the traits which made The Next Room interesting but confused. It does work better here, bringing a kaleidoscopic nature to the opus as heavy, washes of colour drip over the seemingly Gothic globules of thrash.

‘All Eyes On The Prize’ begins with dark narration and feels like I’m suddenly in some Gothic graphic novel, or is that the effects of staring at the cover too long?! Even so, the track chugs nicely with steely riff and occasional turntable quirks. Again Scott Holderby goes for the moodier chops, and once more Faith No More comes to mind: “Forward… forward… fucking forward” he rants, as the band bring devilish old school Bay Area clanking.

‘Dented Lives’ continues the steamy moodiness and Middle Eastern promises before slapping the listener with a heavy dose of heavy funk thrash. “Oh Mother Mary can’t you take away this pain” Holderby beams, and that’s the vocal style I’ve been missing – a higher, lofty, smoother tone harkening back to those golden years from 1989 to 1992. Yeah, I realise that people change, but so desperate am I for one of my favourite bands of all time to be great again.

As ‘Dented Lives’ continues its jaunt I realise how after numerous listens this record has grown on me, culminating in the 70s groove of closer ‘Smash Goes The Bottle’. The song prowls steadily into that classic Mordred territory fused with Thin Lizzy aesthetics as Scott Holderby echoes Phil Lynott’s cool tones, while the rest of the band celebrates with seemingly drunken shenanigans. However, there’s something uncomfortable about this track – it just doesn’t fit. And again I feel strange saying that as Mordred were never a band with limitations and could always flow into whichever style they required. But somehow those retro riffs don’t seem to merge successfully with the yobby thrash, and it’s certainly not a way to finish an album.

As ‘Smash Goes The Bottle’ comes to a clattering halt amidst a sea of thrown beer and DJ Pause’s devilish scratches, I’m left a tad confused by The Dark Parade. The record still maintains strong levels of dark, cutting thrash, but after the title track the album does dip, and knowing that there’s a handful of old unreleased tracks out there I do wish the guys had injected some new life into those rather than tried to convince us with the closing track or, say, ‘Dented Lives’.

Oddly, Mordred’s fourth full-length release seems to have more in common with the miserable creation that was The Next Room, but this time round it does work for the most part. All members present bring their own mercurial flavours which in turn create numerous phases within the sound. The album shifts as one would expect a Mordred album too shift, and those more subtle, at times older funkier jigs are not as readily apparent as the combo steers more towards a darker, tech-thrash brooding with lashings of that aforementioned mid-to-late 90s experimentalism.

However, just like Mordred’s sound I’m also older, and I guess darker, so no longer do I salivate with excitement over records such as this. But then again, we’ll never recapture the glory and happiness one felt when first hearing In This Life all those years ago.

This latest album parades a brooding beefiness, but in a world now saturated with styles, The Dark Parade falls a bit short even though it is a well-crafted and often smouldering and, dare I say it, deftly sinister composition.

Neil Arnold

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