(written by Islander)
The titles of Mardom‘s releases seem to signify an inner conflict, a perception of life in the current age that wrestles with itself. They began with The Path of No Return, followed it with Longing for a New Dawn, and now grimly move from those EPs to a debut album named Dead Soul Age.
In their music this Polish black metal trio also seem to wrestle — passionately — with the milieu in which they and we find ourselves, a seeming unthinking directionless in human behavior that on a daily basis provokes frustration of hopes, anger, pessimism, nostalgia, and a plummet into grief.
What we have for you today is a sign of how Mardom grapple with this state of affairs in their music, as we premiere a song called “Spojrzenie” in advance of Personal Records‘ release of Dead Soul Age on October 4th.
The new album’s cover image suggests that we are tethered to our tombs, that we drag them with us at every step. In the worst of times, the soul has prematurely departed the body, flushed away by circumstance even though the heart still beats.
The vibrating chords of “Spojrzenie” seem to portray such a process, wailing in despair and wrenching in their agonies, even as the drum hammers like a heart and the bass pulsates like moving blood. Still vibrantly whirring, the music also grimly descends into sensations of abandonment, the musical equivalent of a thousand-yard stare, while the vocals wildly explode in a cutting fury.
As bleak as the moods are, it’s easy to become submerged in the music because Mardom have a gift for emotional portrayal. They also know when to switch things up, as they do when they slow the song’s pace to a stalking and staggering gait and let the drums punch hard, coupled with a variation in the riffing that’s more wandering and musing, though still unhopeful.
They shift gears again, surging forward in full blasting fury and creating a guitar-swarm that sounds both desperate and yearning. The song rises, like massed hands begging for something better, but as the screams lacerate with nothing held back, the music grants nothing but pain.
You’ll find out from this song that Mardom‘s new album is produced in a way that gives it heavyweight power and carefully finds a place for the guitar tones, which are rough enough to be un-pretty yet still piercing, and deeply penetrating whether tunneling low or ringing high, while allowing the bass to stand its own ground.
Personal Records will release Dead Soul Age on CD and digital formats, and you’ll find pre-order opportunities via the links below.
We’re also including a stream of the first single off the album, “If Hate Now Reigned“. It too is an emotional powerhouse that sweeps like a massive tide, depressive in its moods but also hard-hitting and tumultuous.
PRE-ORDER:
https://www.personal-records.com/product/pre-order-mardom-dead-soul-age-cd/
https://personal-records.bandcamp.com/album/dead-soul-age
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