Our latex nosed friend returns this year with a brand new album but will the year of 2016 still welcome Mortiis with open arms or has the artists material gone past its sell by date?
[tracklist]
- The Great Leap
- The Ugly Truth
- Doppelganger
- Demons Are Back
- Hard To Believe
- Bleed Like You
- Road To Ruin
- Scalding The Burnt
- The Shining Lamp Of God
- The Sins of Mine
- Feed The Greed
- Too Little Too Late
[/tracklist][details]
[length]54:00[/length]
[record_label]Enter record label here[/record_label]
[release_date]March 4th 2016[/release_date]
[/details]
Hardly bred from musical complexity, Industrial is an art form of simplistic aesthetic. Combining often jarring, distorted vocals over massive produced guitar tone with a focus on song writing with no smoke and mirrors songwriting is paramount. Done in the right way it can be absolutely brilliant, our German counterparts for example thrive on the simplistic pneumatic nature of the riff, what then does Mortiis bring to the table?
Far too often a writers opinion will wheedle its way into a review without being impartial. The Great Deceiver may well not be my cup of tea but there will always be fans out there that will no doubt welcome the Norwegian’s return. “The Ugly Truth” on paper seems to be a good idea however deconstructing the track, melody that was brought from the verse veers off into a discordant sound coupled with the unnecessary guitar leads making for a confusing and ultimately unnecessary sound. Moving into familiar territory with “Doppleganger” a fairly straightforward verse leads into a screamed chorus where hooks do dig their claws in.
Built upon energy Industrial thrives on a sense of purpose bringing together caustic sounds that build over time but here songs like “Road To Ruin” seem more to meander than strike. Elements of the record work, like the more stripped back “Hard To Believe” yet it lacks any form of true identity, leading for the track itself to be ultimately fairly forgetful acting as more of an afterthought. “Bleed Like You” follows this same pattern, that despite the singers convicted singing style ultimately there is little to fall back on. The eighties synths of “Scalding The Burnt” would fit well at home within a classic zombie flick, making for the music to be more of a background rather than the centre piece, complimenting what would be happening say on screen rather than creating a story of it’s own.
Clocking in at over fifty minutes Mortiis‘ new release will be something more for the fans if anything. There are moments of intrigue “Feed The Greed”would act as a fitting eerie soundtrack before the typecast vocals come in and take over. Ultimately The Great Deceiver lacks a sense of direction, which in this day and age of artists constantly improving and pushing the boundaries regardless of respective genre seems like somewhat of a misfire. If you’re already a fan of Mortiis chances are you will be happy to hear what was essentially the same material reorganized with a newer packaging for 2016. Whilst it might not be the worst record I have ever heard, originality is scarce and repetition is the order of the day with the bands new offering. Outdated in this fast moving modern world The Great Deceiver might be good for the fans but to quote the bands final track it’s “Too Little Too Late“.
[verdict]Maybe[/verdict]
[why]Mortiis’ brand new release will not bring any new fans to the table but will no doubt make fans of Industrial happy. After a five year absence its hardly a comeback record that would change the bands history.[/why]
If you like what you read / heard then you can pick up the record here!
