RSS Feed


MORDBRAND
Imago

Deathgasm (2014)
Rating: 6.5/10

Autopsy’s Eric Cutler on guest vocals!! Well, now there’s a way to grab my attention. Mordbrand is a Swedish trio that plies their trade by playing grisly death metal. Imago is the debut full-length release from the band, and follows on from a batch of well-received EPs as well as a couple of split projects.

The record boasts nine tracks which, to put it bluntly, come across as a foetid combination of Entombed and Autopsy. In a sense I’m slightly disappointed by this mix, however, because when you hear that a band is from Sweden, I always dread the thought of hearing the usual buzzsaw riffs we’ve become accustomed to over the years. Mordbrand though – like so many other acts – are reliant on that frothing, salivating type of chainsaw juggernaut.

I just feel like I’ve heard the riffs so many times before, but credit where it’s due, there are some unusual touches on this opus which make it stand out from the crowd. This is apparent in the opening slop of ‘Revelate’ which still maintains that archetypal Swedish groove, but features some interesting melodies of the macabre and a grizzled vocal slur. Per Boder’s vocals are very much of that miserable, crusty, gore-soaked Autopsy-style of snarl, and the percussion of Johan Rudberg gives the record a steely edge. This is especially the case on Rudberg’s death march into the morbid splatter work of ‘Join Them In Thralldom’, which is far more effective as a slower, bile-filled plodder.

Björn Larsson is responsible for both the rumbling bass and that graven guitar sound, but despite the grotesque nature of, say, ‘That Which Crawls’ with its punky opening or the gloomy ‘Bastion Of Blood’, there is still that urge in me to dismiss the guitar sound and crave something less recognisable.

With ‘Bastion Of Blood’ the band really does come into its own, the track choking like some filthy The Ravenous-styled blood-spattered masterpiece of slower, rustier guitars and that grey, plodding skeletal drum. ‘Bastion Of Blood’ leaves me craving similar terror but sadly the combo rarely resorts to such fog, instead returning to the usual Swedish black ’n’ roll intensity with ‘The Spawning (Born Of Rot’).

The surreal, eerie horror of the title track nonetheless does enough to add an air of the rank to proceedings, but for the most part – as showcased with the closing ‘Sever The Limbs That Grace’ – this is still very much formulaic Swedish death metal that hopefully through time will progress into something less ordinary and more macabre. I’m willing to give these guys another chance.

Neil Arnold

<< Back to Album & EP Reviews



Related Posts via Categories
Share