ALBUM REVIEW: Liberate The Unborn Inhumanity – Mors Principium Est

MORS PRINCIPIUM EST should not be allowed to release music in the spring. Yes, yes, album and tour cycles can be unpredictable and are always fluctuating, but Liberate The Unborn Inhumanity is not meant for longer days and flowers in bloom. It’s the sound of struggling through a forest in knee-deep snow while a blizzard howls around you. We’re always glad to get more music from these guys, but this is metal that comes with its own blast of Arctic cold, it shouldn’t be turning up with the Easter Bunny.

A collection of re-recorded favourites from their first three albums, Liberate The Unborn Inhumanity is a deeply atmospheric listen from a perpetually underrated band. This is no late-pandemic stopgap; these old cuts benefit from updated production and sound fresh and exciting. This is melodic death metal with an emphasis on virtuoso guitar playing, full of elastic-fingered solos and dynamic riffage, but there’s also a touch of the Gothic about them. Sometimes, MORS PRINCIPIUM EST come across like AT THE GATES crossed with tragic, lovelorn vampires and it’s easy to get swept up in the theatricality of these songs.

Take the two-part Valley Of Sacrifice for example. It’s a massive statement of all that MORS PRINCIPIUM EST are capable of. It’s a long, complex and wildly sophisticated piece of music, proof that even in their earliest days (it’s originally from a demo released in 2001), they were thinking big. Two Steps Away is similarly impressive, opening with a spiralling guitar piece and boasting some of the catchiest hooks on the album. It’s a stomping, mosh-inducing headbanger and could only be more melodramatic if you played it atop a Scandinavian hill at midnight, beneath the glare of an oversized winter moon.

It’s a worthy introduction for newcomers, but Liberate The Unborn Inhumanity is also a treat for long-time fans. Hearing The Lust Called Knowledge in a new, pristine version is a joy and the extra coats of paint make these songs come to life all over again. Plus, Ville Viljanen is a better singer than he was in 2003 and now has a far greater range and control of his voice.

This is more of a selection box than a proper album, but even so, it’s well worth investing in. MORS PRINCIPIUM EST have written stronger material since these songs first came out, but Liberate The Unborn Inhumanity is still a triumph. It’s an elaborate and dynamic hour of melodic death metal and the only issue we have is the release date. It’s going to be difficult to vibe with the sheer heartbroken grandeur of Pure while drinking cider at a barbecue, but we’ll give it a shot all the same.

Rating: 8/10

Liberate The Unborn Inhumanity is set for release on April 8th via AFM Records.

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