ALBUM REVIEW: Mors Aeterna – Destroyer Of Light
DESTROYER OF LIGHT have been growing steadily from release to release, with 2019 seeing the band gear up to release their third full length studio album Mors Aeterna. A concept album that tells the story of a man who dies, his subsequent journey to the underworld and all that it entails.
The first proper taste of new music from the Texans comes in the form of Dissolution. A track that boasts over seven minutes in length and sets the tone for the entire release. The fuzzy distorted riff from guitarists Keegan Kjeldsen and Steve Colca that introduces the song is simple, yet effective, catchy and serves its purpose of enticing the listener in with its infectious groove. Colca then lays down his first vocal lines of the album which are just as powerful and well disciplined as ever. He delivers the melody in such a way that it adds almost another instrument to the mix as well as governing the overall dark mood of the song. The heaviness is only interrupted when the band throw in a massive left turn at around the four minute mark, where the band slam on the breaks and truly embrace their doom influences. The harmonised guitar riffs soar over the top of the simplistic, booming drums and give the audience something to really nod along to and the off kilter, Keith Richards-esque guitar solo is a welcome moment if inspiration that feels exciting in its creativeness and off beat nature.
In the middle of the album, the track Falling Star provides one of the real highlights on Mors Aeterna. The track builds slowly with a mixture of an almost blues inspired guitar riff, drenched in layers of fuzz. The drums sound full and booming in the mix and play off brilliant against the thumping bass guitar and an ominous chime can be heard in the background to add to the atmosphere. Before a wall of heavily distorted guitars kicks in a threatens to blow out your speakers. The sound is gargantuan and this theme continues on in to the verse. However, the pace picks up considerably and with the muted, bouncing guitar lines and melodic vocal melody from Colca, this song is one of the more upbeat efforts on Mors Aeterna. The inclusion of another simple guitar solo is a brilliant way to play out the track. DESTROYER OF LIGHT know how to use the guitar to tell a story of sorts and this particular solo is a testament to that rather than just being a display of the technical prowess of the player.
The back end of the album includes not one, but two brief interlude tracks that add a certain sense of drama and atmosphere to proceedings. With a release as grandiose as this one it makes sense to have small interludes here and there, although this seems a little more like wasting tracks when you consider that Mors Aeterna only consists of ten songs anyway. However, on a positive note the track Loving The Void is one of the finest songs that DESTROYER OF LIGHT have ever committed to tape. The slow burning nature of the song oozes with doom metal sensibilities and sees Colca laying down some of his most experimental and impressive vocals displays of the entire release. The lead guitar work being laid down is drenched in wah effect and comes across as something Tony Iommi would have laid down on any of the first four BLACK SABBATH albums. The guitar solo in the mid section is simply astounding. It is technically proficient, well written and tells a story the way all good guitar solos should, instead of simply fitting as many notes in to one bar as humanly possibly (a common issue with many bands in modern metal. Loving The Void in general is the band at their absolute peak creatively and is hopefully a style that we will see them harnessing more and more as they go on.
Overall Mors Aeterna is a superb effort from a band that is growing in stature and confidence with every release. It goes without saying that if they carry on developing this way going forward, the future looks very bright for DESTROYER OF LIGHT.
Rating: 8/10
Mors Aeterna is set for release May 24th via Argonauta Records.
Like DESTROYER OF LIGHT on Facebook.