Contemplate the artwork of Chase Slaker that introduces people to the second album by Morbific. Take in the wretched, lifeless vision of skeletons strewn about and piled high in chilling monoliths. Consider also the album’s name — Squirm Beyond the Mortal Realm — and song titles such as “Meal From An Open Skull”, “Initiation Into Oblivion”, “Malignant Germination”, or the track we’re premiering today, “Suicide Sanctum“.
All of that foretells death (metal) and the presence of the supernatural.
These signposts are also very accurate. Morbific‘s brand of death metal is undeniably raw and foul, well-calculated to channel sensations of disease, putrefaction, and madness while giving your bones a brutal beating — and creating an atmosphere of supernatural horror while they do all that.
That would be enough for most fans of rotten-to-the-core death metal, but it turns out that Morbific are ridiculously good at making their creations head-moving and “catchy” as well as hideous.
The song we’re presenting today is a fine example of all those qualities, and it also vivdly shows the dynamism of Morbific‘s songwriting.
“Suicide Sanctum” is as grisly and ghastly as the cover art portends. It cavorts like the risen dead who’ve been anxiously awaiting a return from their crypts — drums bouncing, bass thudding, and gritty guitars chugging and whining. When the tempo slows and the drums clobber and boom, the music becomes even more grim and ghastly, the sound oozing with disease and rot, thanks to riffage that quivers, quavers, and crawls.
Eventually the vocals do arrive, bellowing the words in a horrific, cavernous growl, backed by a miasma of roiling guitar delirium that reaches its peak in a crazed, screaming guitar solo. There also comes a point when the band slow to an even more morbid crawl, bringing down the doom veil laced with arpeggios of misery.
As we said, it’s a dynamic song and, as you’ll learn, it’s packed with blood-crusted hooks that will be damned hard to disengage from your head.
Well, if that’s not enough grunting, gruesome, and grievous death metal to sate your hunger, feast upon “Bind, Torture, Snuff“, or allow yourselves to be feasted upon by it. It’s the first track unveiled from the new album, and it fortifies the impression that Morbific really know how to write songs that are as infectious as they are filth-ridden, and as wild as they are skull-crushing and gut-punching. This one’s a hellish romp that’s a ton of fun to hear:
Squirm Beyond the Mortal Realm will be released on October 24th by Memento Mori (handling the CD version) and Me Saco Un Ojo Records (handling the vinyl edition). If you’d like further reference points, consider the works of Autopsy, Rottrevore, Deteriorot, Mortician, Grave, Maimed, Undergang, Impetigo, and ancient Finnish masters of death and decay such as Funebre and Disgrace.
MEMENTO MORI:
http://www.memento-mori.es/home.php
https://www.facebook.com/memento.mori.label/
MORBIFIC:
https://morbific.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/morbific