Mors Principium Est - The Unborn
Listenable - posh066 - 2005
By Patrick Walsh
Mors Principium Est, despite the grandiose band name, are a Finnish melo-death band. That's right folks, more ghastly capers from the land of twin lead axework, constant 'In Flames before they sold out' baiting and general Dark Tranquility-esque inspired mediocrity. The Unborn has a mediocum of decent riffs, but so what? This is for the most part cookie-cutter Scandinavian melo-death that is hard hitting, well produced and forceful, but is once again indicative of the stagnation of this genre as a whole.
When 'Pure' erupts from the speakers, it's hard not to be intrigued by the well-meaning riffwork on display, and when it winds down and the female vocals kick in, I began to think that maybe this was going to be a kind of Sinergy meets Soilwork affair. However, things got bland just as soon as they began interesting when vocalist/guitarist Jori starts rasping in that woefully generic fashion we've come to pretty much expect from such groups. 'Parasites of Paradise' contains keyboards that sound eerily similar to In Flames' 'Cloud Connected', and whilst The Unborn is chock full of guitar solos, hard-hitting modern thrash anthems and forceful 'kick in the face' type drumming, there's just far too little here to differentiate Mors Principium Est from every other Scandinavian thrash outfit. That said, there are some nice moments to be found on this disc (such as some tasty death metal riffs on 'Two Steps Away'), so The Unborn is perhaps a work that the melo-death masochists are sure to find has something to offer.
6/10
Official Mors Principium Est Website
Official Listenable Records Website
Listenable - posh066 - 2005
By Patrick Walsh
Mors Principium Est, despite the grandiose band name, are a Finnish melo-death band. That's right folks, more ghastly capers from the land of twin lead axework, constant 'In Flames before they sold out' baiting and general Dark Tranquility-esque inspired mediocrity. The Unborn has a mediocum of decent riffs, but so what? This is for the most part cookie-cutter Scandinavian melo-death that is hard hitting, well produced and forceful, but is once again indicative of the stagnation of this genre as a whole.
When 'Pure' erupts from the speakers, it's hard not to be intrigued by the well-meaning riffwork on display, and when it winds down and the female vocals kick in, I began to think that maybe this was going to be a kind of Sinergy meets Soilwork affair. However, things got bland just as soon as they began interesting when vocalist/guitarist Jori starts rasping in that woefully generic fashion we've come to pretty much expect from such groups. 'Parasites of Paradise' contains keyboards that sound eerily similar to In Flames' 'Cloud Connected', and whilst The Unborn is chock full of guitar solos, hard-hitting modern thrash anthems and forceful 'kick in the face' type drumming, there's just far too little here to differentiate Mors Principium Est from every other Scandinavian thrash outfit. That said, there are some nice moments to be found on this disc (such as some tasty death metal riffs on 'Two Steps Away'), so The Unborn is perhaps a work that the melo-death masochists are sure to find has something to offer.
6/10
Official Mors Principium Est Website
Official Listenable Records Website
