Madder Mortem Desiderata
Peaceville Records April 24th, 2006
By Jason Jordan
Madder Mortem have had it hard enough, I suppose, without me whining about certain aspects of their music, but hey, its what I do. Releasing Mercury (1999) on Misanthropy, All Flesh is Grass (2001) and Deadlands (2002) on Century Media, and Desiderata (duh! 2006) on Peaceville, this female-fronted outfit have put in their fair share of label hopping, and I can partially see why with their latest being as uneven as it is. However, I liked more of it than not, though I wouldnt be able to endorse this without a guilty conscience banging me over the head with a frying pan every time I did.
In all honesty, the quartet excluding fifth member, vocalist Kirkevaag, for the time being are adept at the instrumental portion of music, crafting metal that oftentimes shakes the wall with its crunch and reverberation. For instance, the beginning of Changeling downright crushes, as well as the latter part of Evasions, in addition to The Flood to Come. And the commencement of Hypnos is fantastic in its weighty arrival, the expansiveness painting a picture of the grand entrance of an evil royalty or the passing of a gigantic airship. Yeah, its a strange notion. To continue, however, Ill pose a question: so whats the problem then? Well, My Name is Silence was not a wise choice for the lead-in because Kirkevaag gets perhaps too crazy and uncouth before she displays her pipes true value through A+ singing. Dystopia is of minimal importance, too, the interlude followed by the bass-saturated M for Malice, which sounds like a nu-metal outing. At any rate, Desiderata houses music of all qualities (bad, good, great, etc.), but is ultimately not up to par with my usual standards.
Still, even though there are several numbers that warrant sopping up, My Name is Silence steers the listener in the wrong direction, and arguably Madder Mortem dont ever fully recover from the error committed at the outset. With Peacevilles gems lounging on store shelves Katatonias The Great Cold Distance and Novembres Materia Ive gotta recommend those first. People seem to like that new Darkthrone record too, but I cant figure out why. Nevertheless, if youre a Madder Mortem aficionado, then youll be satisfied with whats on the table. All others should just look elsewhere.
6/10
UMs Review Rating Scale
Official Madder Mortem Website
Official Peaceville Records Website
Peaceville Records April 24th, 2006
By Jason Jordan
Madder Mortem have had it hard enough, I suppose, without me whining about certain aspects of their music, but hey, its what I do. Releasing Mercury (1999) on Misanthropy, All Flesh is Grass (2001) and Deadlands (2002) on Century Media, and Desiderata (duh! 2006) on Peaceville, this female-fronted outfit have put in their fair share of label hopping, and I can partially see why with their latest being as uneven as it is. However, I liked more of it than not, though I wouldnt be able to endorse this without a guilty conscience banging me over the head with a frying pan every time I did.
In all honesty, the quartet excluding fifth member, vocalist Kirkevaag, for the time being are adept at the instrumental portion of music, crafting metal that oftentimes shakes the wall with its crunch and reverberation. For instance, the beginning of Changeling downright crushes, as well as the latter part of Evasions, in addition to The Flood to Come. And the commencement of Hypnos is fantastic in its weighty arrival, the expansiveness painting a picture of the grand entrance of an evil royalty or the passing of a gigantic airship. Yeah, its a strange notion. To continue, however, Ill pose a question: so whats the problem then? Well, My Name is Silence was not a wise choice for the lead-in because Kirkevaag gets perhaps too crazy and uncouth before she displays her pipes true value through A+ singing. Dystopia is of minimal importance, too, the interlude followed by the bass-saturated M for Malice, which sounds like a nu-metal outing. At any rate, Desiderata houses music of all qualities (bad, good, great, etc.), but is ultimately not up to par with my usual standards.
Still, even though there are several numbers that warrant sopping up, My Name is Silence steers the listener in the wrong direction, and arguably Madder Mortem dont ever fully recover from the error committed at the outset. With Peacevilles gems lounging on store shelves Katatonias The Great Cold Distance and Novembres Materia Ive gotta recommend those first. People seem to like that new Darkthrone record too, but I cant figure out why. Nevertheless, if youre a Madder Mortem aficionado, then youll be satisfied with whats on the table. All others should just look elsewhere.
6/10
UMs Review Rating Scale
Official Madder Mortem Website
Official Peaceville Records Website
