ALBUM REVIEW: Spirit of Rebellion – Mortiis

MORTIIS doesn’t get enough credit for his many contributions to music. Inventing the genre that would go on to be known as dungeon synth, and introducing fans of black metal to dark ambient music years before the likes of BURZUM and NEPTUNE TOWERS gained prominence by adopting this style, this man has had a very prolific career, with his music bringing in elements of synthpop, ambient and industrial since the release of his debut demo, The Song of a Long Forgotten Ghost back in 1993. His latest, twelfth record, Spirit of Rebellion, is a re-recording of the band’s second full length, 1995’s Ånden som gjorde opprør, updating one of the classic releases with a more modern and expanded sound, making this not only a continuation of that record, but also MORTIIS‘ first outright dungeon synth/ambient record in over two decades.

A Dark Horizon, the re-imagining of En mørk horisont, captures much of the bombast and epic sound that characterised the original version, with noticeably sharper and crisper production giving this a massive, grandiose sound right out of the gate. This clearer production style does a great job of allowing the intricate elements of the original version to be fully appreciated. With the music diving between powerful, dungeon synth sections and more subdued, haunting ambient ones, it proves to be a faithful rendition of a classic track, albeit with a much more robust and massive sound giving the music a new lease of life, and the final motif being stretched out for a couple more minutes, something that actually helps, rather than hinders, the track.

Visions of an Ancient Future takes Visjoner av en eldgammel fremtid and does an excellent job of turning it into a vastly different song; peppering this song with a fair few Industrial flourishes, it perfectly blends the bands classic sound with the sort of sound that they have become known for over the last decade. In spite of these more polished, industrial elements being thrown into the mix, it is still very much recognisable, and much like the album’s opener, makes great use of a more pristine production to make for a tighter and more pronounced sound, whilst still remaining true to the original version of the track. Notably, this song is substantially longer than its 1995 counterpart, with the subtle industrial parts and extension of certain sections of the song adding a lofty eight minutes onto what was already an eighteen minute piece of music, making the an absolutely monolithic, sprawling track by the time it comes to its conclusion.

Although this record covers a lot of old ground musically, it does two very significant things; firstly, it revitalised a bonafide classic for a new audience, which should encourage a lot of fans of MORTIIS, both old and new, to revisit those early records and appreciate them on a new level. Moreover, this marks the first time since the late 90’s that MORTIIS has produced anything within the dungeon synth/ambient framework. It’s a return to the band’s roots, quite literally, and could mark a return to that sound and style with upcoming releases. With any luck, we’ll get some more music like this out of the band in the near future, because if this record is anything to go by, then MORTIIS is more than capable of still being able to produce great music in this style.

Rating: 8/10

Spirit of Rebellion is out now via Omnipresence Production/Dead Seed Productions.

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