H. TOOTH GRAPHIC

New Tune Review: Mors Verum — The Living (2021)

Mors Verum is old-school death metal worship at its finest. Their third offering, The Living (2021), is comprised of five devastating tracks for fans of Gorguts and Immolation. Mors Verum pay homage to their exalted lineage by honouring their roots while leaving space for inventive composition. The three-piece band is sure to appease the most discriminating hordes with their coarse and unrelenting brand of death metal. Elite.

The Living (2021) begins with earth-crushing riffage akin to mid-era Immolation, pinching dissonance squeals over chugging, open notes to antagonize the structure of its own progression.  Polyrhythmic percussion serves as the foundation upon which warring guitars attempt to assert dominance over jangling bass. This dynamic creates textural anomalies reminiscent of late Azagthothian compositions where opposing pitches compete to resonate over blazing tempos. Guitars squeal and lash over a steady double-pulse, bringing order to the chaos of rampant licks. Cyclical drums churn into oblivion as menacing notes rattle into the cacophony of blast beats and pointed bell-strikes. Mors Verum lend a voice to doom and gloom—though its message is shrouded by the growl of an irked beast. Deep, commanding vocals urge through a human host as if to communicate a message from below. The line between harmonic dissonance and harmonious progeny is muddled by the clamor of plucked bass and menacing, minor-pentatonic licks. Mors Verum is hell-bent on demonstrating their reverence for the golden age of death metal, and they do so with a serious respect for the genre. Though, one might wonder: how the fuck they are going to play this live?

Genres: Death Metal.

Associated Acts: Stolos, Spook the Beast, Ischemic, Gravitational Distortion