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MORBID EVILS
Deceases
2017, Svart Records

Nathan The big hook with MORBID EVILS is the involvement of ROTTEN SOUND mainman Keijo Niiminaa, but unrelenting grindcore this is not. The larger hook, glistening crimson in pale moonlight, is the riffs here are absolutely gargantuan, Niiminaa abusing his HM-2 pedal in new and frightening ways. MORBID EVILS play doom. MORBID EVILS are doom.

Deceases is the second outing from the group and being that they are not yet four years old as a musical entity that is saying something. Fears of the sophomore slump are allayed quickly as opening track “Case I: Murder” bludgeons the listener with feedback and a slowly churning guitar sound circling the drain of the mind as it sucks you deep into its pit of despair. Amidst the somewhat glacial pace of the music, though, is a palatable atmosphere wrought by reverb and a warbled guitar sound, that if sped up, would be a death metal fan’s wet dream. It is difficult to articulate the deep, stomach churning, odd feeling that is evoked from music played at the speed that MORBID EVILS are comfortable at, but I guess the closest would be aural vertigo. The riffs just keep coming, but never ringing out in an endless ebb and flow like some other doom tinged bands but also not venturing into a stoner rock vibe either, merely existing somewhere within the aether of distortion and reverb and creepy samples to augment the dismal lyrical themes. I feel like Deceases is a concept album of some higher art that I am just not prepared to follow quite that far. It really makes for an uneasy listen, but not in a bad way.

There is a trend recently for certain metal albums to incorporate the abysmal, the cavernous, the INCANTATION sound. MORBID EVILS definitely have the cavernous down pat but lack the recording quality of a tin can - a welcome change. The recording is full, allowing each instrument to fully breathe, suffocating the listener like a deathbag, and also providing for the aforementioned layers of atmosphere which a lot of doom bands try for but somehow miss just barely. The slippery slope of doom and drone is that it can all end up sounding like a mess of poorly constructed chords and lazy drums and can get rather samey (everything can to be fair). There is variety in this goulash but you really have to chew on it to get the flavor to come out.

Keijo has one of the most recognizable barks in extreme metal and it is refreshing to hear it used in a new way, his menacing snarl drawn out over every agonizing string stroke to rev up the proceedings just past lumbering. I can’t get over the swirling guitar playing, which while never really goes anywhere also does not remain stagnant and that is one of my big gripes with a lot of doom - it isn’t exciting. MORBID EVILS have crafted an album that is exciting, a slow burn for sure, but seemingly informed by enough outside influence from grind and crust to propel it forward without succumbing to tropes of the genre.

Deceases is recommended to fans of slow, deliberately hurtful heavy metal that is meant to feel like a punch to the gut and leave you wanting more. That tone is ludicrous. Now, can someone please explain that cover art?!

4.0 Out Of 5.0

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