Inhumanity

Seriously one of the more obscure bands in melodeath. I could go on and on about how they hardly got any recognition till kingdom come, but I will spare you. Many have pointed out their startling similarity to Dark Tranquillity and I will say that is true for the most part. The sound of Mors Principium Est (on this album at least) is probably the closest to Dark Tranquillity's killer 2002 release Damage Done, but with a more pummeling thrash influence. In fact I daresay it supersedes that album. Hopefully when you hear the album, you'll understand. These Finnish maestros have been at it for a while now. But considering this is their debut album, I’m truly flabbergasted by how tight and focused they sound not to mention their fetish for razor sharp catchy riffs and solos. The melodies are just infectious and are bound to stick in your head.

The opener "Another Creation" kicks in firing on all cylinders and apart from being a vicious album opener that part at 0:45 where the riff changes into a headbanging feast is just fucking heaven. Even the interlude track "Oblivion" fits perfectly in the album with its mournful acoustic guitar picking creating a vividly depressing landscape. It's amazing.

One may argue that these guys aren't reinventing the wheel at all, well of course they aren't but c'mon let's face it: that's hardly the point of melodeath as a genre, at least not anymore. Also another thing is you really need earphones (and a good pair of them at that) to notice the subtle keys punching melody and breathing atmosphere into the music at every level. Having said that, kindly listen to "The Lust Called Knowledge" just for that keyboard intro if nothing else. And 0:18 and 1:33 of "Life In Black". The awesomeness truly never ends.

The intro of "In My Words" is probably the height of brutality for a genre like melodeath recalling pre-Gossow era Arch Enemy at their relentless best, leading up to a really phenomenal set of riffs crushed by a ripping solo to boot. Melodeath newbies: THIS is how it's done! No other way. You'll do good to remember that. Don't take that previous sentence too personally thought. The title track is also another scorcher, but to be honest, all the songs are. Yeah you read that right. Each and every song from beginning to end, no exceptions. Into Illusion is the only track with clean vocals as well as being the slowest song on the album and the main melody at 0:48 is just unbelievably perfect. So simple yet so sorrowfully epic. I am truly out of superlatives here.

A part of me just can't believe how fucking catchy this album is; I mean by the first listen itself I found myself humming most of the riffs and melodies to the first five songs, which only happens in the rarest of cases. I mean the band themselves set the benchmark for future releases here people. Don't get me wrong; all their albums are great in their own way, but this one truly stand alone; they never again reached this height of intense perfection and in all probability, never again will. And this is coming from someone who digs all their albums. In spite of that previous sentence, a part of me does hope that they make another masterpiece like this one. One can only hope.

Buy or die.

These days I am very cautious when it comes to melodic death metal. I love death metal bands like Deicide and Cannibal Corpse, but the melodic stuff is problematic. The only melodic death metal band I can listen to is At the Gates. Unfortunately, bands like In Flames have ruined the genre with their popular kind of influence that they implement – just listen to “Soundtrack to your escape” and you will see what I mean. These days almost every melodic death metal band wants to sound like At the Gates and In Flames and many of them fail in their attempt, since In Flames themselves have become a weak band. Overall, melodic death metal has become quite stagnant.

I decided to try Mors Principium Est and I was very sceptic. In general, this album has quite a few bright moments, but I would not call it unique. Tracks like “Another Creation”, “Inhumanity”, “D.I.B.” and a few others sound almost the same. On tracks like these, I hear a kind of sound that every other melodic death metal band plays – fast rhythmic guitars mixed with fast paced drumming. The style of the guitars is something that every other band in this genre uses. What rescues Mors Principium Est, is the fact that they implement a technical death metal style with their guitar solos and at least this brings something unique to the table. In most of the tracks, the background is full with keyboards and synthetic melodies that do not really do anything for me. However, some tracks sound unique – “The Lust called Knowledge” and “Life in Black” contains some very bright moments. I especially enjoyed the complex solos on “Life in Black”, but if only the whole album could be this unique.

The technical death metal kind of solos that the band uses, are constantly interrupted by melodic high-pitched solos that typically sound like In Flames. The cherry on the stale cake is certainly the clean vocals that comes later on in the album – I found myself asking “Am I listening to that pathetic Nickelback?!”. The album ends with a track that (again!) sounds like “Another Creation” and some of the others. In general there are a few moments on this album that are exciting, but I think that bands in the melodic death metal genre should stop trying to be like At the Gates and especially In Flames. I think that every band, regardless of their genre, should try their best to implement their own unique sound and just be themselves. To me, “Inhumanity” is a typical example of an album that would suit the fans of this specific genre, but to me this is just another stagnant and stale conformity that does not really belong in the greater metal perspective.

For a debut album, this is just amazing. Some have compared it to Insomnium, Children Of Bodom, Kalmah, and In Flames (personally, I see no corelation between these bands, but hey, people say things at times). This album is full of atmosphere, lyrical depth, and guitar shred (a trait that this band is just thriving with, thanks in part due to guitarist Jarkko Kokko).

The opening track, "Another Creation", is probably my favorite song of all time. It tells you what to expect from this album. The lyrics are very deep on this song, and the riffs cooperate quite well with the drums and vocals to create a very epic feel to the song. This song is full of life and, like almost every song this band have ever made, shred guitar. Strangely enough, despite the incredible speed of the solos, they fit with the song quite well to enforce the atmosphere of the what's going on.

This album has sort of a progressive-metal touch to it, compared to this band's later albums, so don't expect head banging madness (but feel free to do so when appopriate). All of the lyrics are very deep in meaning, and the guitar riffs lock quite well in the drums to boost feeling. Notably, the songs "Inhumanity" really reminds of that feeling you get right before you answer the last question of the last test you'll ever take in school. This song is also remembered amongst fans for it's inhumanly fast guitar solo (hence both the album title and the song title), in one section going as fast as 32 notes per second (if my calculations are correct). The song "D.I.B." ("Death Is the Beginning", the band's name when translated from latin to english) is the band's "self-titled" song and really is epic in feeling. The solo also has sone of the fastest sweep picking I've ever heard from any guitarist, and like every solo from this band, fits the song's feeling extremely well. It sort of gives you that "martyr" feeling to it, like you're about to die, but you'll be in heaven. Other excellent examples of feeling in this album include "Last Apprentice", the acoustic instrumental "Oblivion" and the closing track "Into Illusion".

If you like progressive metal and/or melodic death metal, this is a necessity for your CD collection. You might as well not call yourself a metal fan if you don't own a copy of this CD.

Yes, yes it's all here. The technical guitar parts, the galloping rhythms and the Iron Maiden like guitar solos, making, I guess, a very solid Melodic Death (Gothenburg) album. I don't actually own this album. I'd like to point out I simply have an mp3 copy a friend made for me insisting I must hear them on the grounds that they where intresting new group. However upon listening I found nothing but another bland In Flames/At The Gates/Dark Tranquility inspired young band who seeming have be swept up in popularity of the Nuclear Blast and Century Media driven "Euro Metal" phenonmon, that has occurred in Europe in the last few years. The inclusion of keyboards on this album has lead many to proclaim this band as the new Children Of Bodom. However anyone expecting the interesting and highly skilled use of keyboards as found in such albums as Hatebreeder and Follow The Reaper will find themselves highly disappointed. Instead the keyboard drone away in background attempting to heighten the atmosphere at key parts in the song, sounding more akin to early Satyricon or Rotting Christ than the flash soloing of Janne Warman.

The album starts off with the typical quick paced thrasher "Another Creation" which is quite enjoyable, and then quickly moves into Eternity's Child which posseses a very catchy guitar harmony and a quite nice atmospheric part. This is really the only song on the album that manages to put the keyboards to good use and IMO is the srongest track on the album. However Mors Principium Est make the mistake of opening their album with their best matterial, and the album soon takes a turn for the worst and disolves into a sludge of forgettable Gothenburg style riffs which to my ears are comparable, to modern day Arch Enemy. The only other song that really stands out to me on the album is "The Lust For Knowledge".

While Mors Principium Est clearly have delivered a competant Gothenburg style album here, it really is just another case of "Nice try, come back when when you've thought of something origonal". Mabey the 15 and 16 year old Nuclear Blasters may find something exciting about, but for the seasoned metal fan it will sadly hold nothing new.

These finnish guys are truly influenced by Children of Bodom. In fact, if I did not know that this was Mors Principium Est, I would have guessed it to be CoB. Listen to the song "Eternity's Child" and you will know what I mean.

Their music is somewhat heavier, their vocals a bit more aggressive, and the tempo is a bit higher if you compare with Children of Bodom. The Guitars is up front, while the voclas are to the back. The vocals are harsh throughout the whole cd, except from some parts on the last track "Into Illusion", and in my opinion those soft vocals should not have been there. (that's my only complaint)

The music will bash your head out for 38 minutes! Mors Principium Est rocks! And I must say that you very seldom gets this much out of a debut-album. If you're in to melodic death and/or CoB, check this out!

I'm already waiting with great anticipation for their next album!