By Jonny Bakes
It’s only been in recent years that I’ve really latched onto the melodic death genre but now that I’m invested I’ve been enjoying finding a whole new world of emotive metal. So it’s no real surprise that I’ve not yet got to grips with Mors Principium Est, despite the fact that it is their ninth full length album that has landed on my desk for review. But hey, better late than never right? The question is, will ‘Darkness Invisible’ be the album that sends me down the deep dark rabbit hole of Mors Principium Est?
After their previous album ‘Liberate The Unborn Inhumanity’ took a retrospective view by re-recording early fan favourites, ‘Darkness Invisible’ takes the band a step forward with something new to stake their claim as a forerunner of modern melodic death metal.
‘Darkness Invisible’ is a dark and brooding album that blends beautiful guitar melodies, guttural vocals and orchestral elements to build a massive sound. The darkness of the music is matched by lyrical themes of isolation and internal suffering resulting in something pretty haunting. In short, it delivers melancholy of cinematic proportions with an introspective anger that rises to the surface which will leave you feeling a little empty once it’s over.
The album opens with ‘Of Death’ with a foreboding introduction of evil sounding latin muttering before the slow melodic guitar kicks in to build up an atmosphere of dread. Then suddenly this cuts into blistering blast beats and the harsh growls of Ville Viljanen leading to a pre-chorus of captivating lyrics with the line “the velvet lines between the lies, you are a hypocrite parasite” immediately standing out! But perhaps the most memorable part of this song for me is the exquisite guitar solo towards the end that is somehow awash with emotion, making you feel an essence of hope in what has otherwise been a pretty bleak portrayal. And that’s exactly what I love about this genre, the way that you can introduce these beautiful melodies to break up the darkness.
Another stand out song hits you towards the end of the album with a change of pace, ‘All Life is Evil’. This one may be slower than most of the others, but it is certainly no less heavy, in fact the slow tempo makes it weigh even heavier on you. There’s heavy use of the choral samples, which makes this feel like a symphonic piece that would fit in quite well in the background of a dark and suspenseful horror film. But eventually the darkness gives way to hauntingly beautiful female vocals that are like an angelic juxtaposition which gives a powerful edge. Then again, you have an emotive guitar solo that brings the whole song together into an epic symphony that would be the perfect partner to a cold rainy night of retrospection and a large whiskey.
So overall, I’ll admit it took me a couple of listens to really gel with this album, perhaps because it was a sharp deviation from what I had listened to previously, but ultimately it was worth the perseverance. ‘Darkness Invisible’ is a slightly different flavour of melodic death to my most played artist as it leans more into the darkness but once you come to terms with this you can begin to see the glimpses of beauty within. ‘Darkness Invisible’ is a pretty dark view of the world that is brought to you in an almost theatrical manner that is amplified through the use of orchestral and choral samples into something that really can only be described as epic.
While this may be a very late introduction to Mors Principium Est for me, it certainly won’t be my last foray into their catalogue, that’s for sure! Mors Principium Est have certainly moved with the flow of modern melodic death metal but have managed to retain the sound of the early era of the genre to ensure they remain a cornerstone of the genre. So if you’re already in love with melodeath, then ‘Darkness Invisible’ needs to be on your list to check out!
- ‘Darkness Invisible‘ is out now.