Origin: Umeå, Västerbotten, Sweden 🇸🇪
Genre: Black Metal
Sweden’s Mortuus – holding firm to Qliphoth and this modern scene’s indulgence in ritualistic Satanism – have drawn forth from The Dragon’s current the dark magickal energy needed to create what is one of the most genuine black metal albums I’ve heard recently. They were founded in 2003, and the lineup consists of members hailing from other projects like Serpent Noir and The Forever Season. This veteran duo who so boldly traverse creative and spiritual pathways that intertwine throughout the realms of Satanism, true Swedish black metal and Kabbalah, have released a most alluring record; one that judging by the cover art alone is a deep-seated recording devoid of cliches or mainstream appeal. “Diablerie” was released on June 14, 2022 via the underground scene’s most occult-inspired label, WTC Productions.
Four tracks spanning 43 minutes – each cut broken down into brilliant compositionally sound segments – all in honor of the Faustian spirit. And what better way to have it than to hear it laid out before you with such passion and lust for the Left Hand way? Great spirits of olde and ancient daemonic forces are whipped into a frenzy through the unfurling of epic album cuts like the opener, “Threefold the Harrowing of Hell”, and the following title-track as each alternate between rolling melodic sequences and eerie, dreamlike soundscapes set to mellow rhythms. Both journeys within themselves, yet requiring so little from the listener. This is a welcoming work of art; a candlelit affair that evokes images of cloaked ones calling out their wicked incantations somewhere off in the night; all bound by fire and auras ablaze with the dark light.
As you’re feel your way through this elaborate tapestry of varying influences into the final half of the recording, you’ll take in the doom-drenched “In Graves Remote, Even the Worthless Have a Meaning” with its slow, torturously delightful ebbs and flows that snake their way through a rich atmospheric outlay consisting of nothing more than the masterful utilization of different guitar tones. The record closes with another slow-burner in “Furnace of Sleep”. Shades of the Watain epic, “The Wild Hunt”, set a wholesome, soulful tone for your remaining time spent in tune with this ancient adversarial energy that only the boldest of souls choose to stream with.
Produced with warmth and care – nothing lost in the mix and every phase melded together seamlessly.
These days, contemporary black metal bands are either resorting back to the early 90’s style or – in youthful fashion – slathering you in all things modern without much middle ground. This is where bands like Mortuus come in to remind us of how beautiful black metal can be when it’s created with pure Satanic passion and authentic ties to occultism. A slow-kill, doom-laden record that bares very little in resemblance to the flamboyant stuff being released by other Luciferian black metal bands. This is where simplicity, the warmth of conviction and sincerity converge. And the product doesn’t get much sweeter…
9.5/10
Experience “Diablerie” by Mortuus right here:
~Jeger
