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Mortuary Drape > All the Witches Dance > Reviews
Mortuary Drape - All the Witches Dance

More aggression and less darkness please - 88%

Forever Underground, May 4th, 2022

Mortuary Drape are gradually becoming one of my favourite bands of the first wave of black metal, and my appreciation for them started with this album, what I had heard of them previously was the EP "Into the Drape" which I hated so much that I never went back to it, maybe it's time to give them a new chance, anyway, Mortuary Drape's debut album is an example of music with atmospheric and ritualistic characteristics in contrast with the aggressiveness of early black and heavy metal clearly present in parts like the solo "Astral Bewitchment".

Although this kind of sound works well, it is true that it is not fully polished, as a consequence some sequences drag on longer than they should, the very beginning is challenging with an ominous intro that stretches over six minutes, and although this is to open the track "Primordial", which is one of the band's best songs, the fact that it is such a good song yet lasts half as long as the intro that preceded it feels a little disappointing. This happens more often than not, like on "Tregenda (Dance in Shroud)" with two minutes eaten up by an intro that, while it does its job, goes on a bit too long. This is basically the whole point of the whole thing, all these elements are fine and work for their intended purpose, but they are stretched out in part I think due to inexperience.

Getting into the music, the sound of Mortuary Drape if it is remarkable for something is for being much heavier and aggressive than the rest of their first wave black metal counterparts, and this is because there have always been strong traces of death metal in this band more than in any other band of this kind. On this debut album however this is not so noticeable on all the songs, it would be on Secret Sudaria where they would show this better, but on tracks like "Larve" or "13th Way" where the style is more aggressive from the second one this is much more noticeable. These are the songs where the Italians show their best. Although their inexperience makes them their achilles heel at different moments, when it comes to the instrumentation the band shines by itself, the album is full of dizzying riffs and solos as well as great changes of rhythm executed by the drums and mainly a bass that will satisfy any fan of the instrument, in this matter it seems that Mortuary Drape would specialize in, even having two basses in their third album to amplify this use that they already gave it and adding more heaviness to the mix. The production is rather poor, nothing that stands out in a bad way, and yet it adds a dirty touch to the sound that fits with the rest of the music, especially if we emphasize this aspect with the voice of the legendary frontman Wildness Perversion, who makes his only drumming performance on an official album, until 2014, and signs a solid performance along with his legendary and heartbreaking vocals.

With a bit of perspective I can notice that this album is far from perfect, the band was still a bit rough in some aspects, namely that occult atmospheric aspect that is far from other bands at that time like Necromantia or Mercyful Fate. Luckily the guys of Mortuary Drape knew how to adapt and evolve, they managed to take the best of this album and represent it in the next one, leaving this one as an unpolished exercise but with potential and a good handful of great songs.

Cult Doom Death/Black - 88%

CHRISTI_NS_ANITY8, July 15th, 2009

Mortuary Drape is a well-known band for having brought the occult music to a level that not so many bands reached. Their style, begun in 1986, was a mix of old Venom influences with the occult ones coming from our mighty 80s Italian panorama and bands like Death SS and Black Hole to create something new for the time. The first demos followed this direction and soon they became cults in the underground but just after 8 years from its creation, the band managed to release the very first album, this All The Witches Dance. Piedmont, my region, has always been famous for its occult and dark aura; the legends we have talk about witches and dark stories about demons and Mortuary Drape surely were inspired by these themes to built up their music.

This album is one of the gloomiest I’ve ever heard. The violent black metal components are wisely mixed with the classic occult atmospheres of the keyboards to create a perfect balance. The first example of atmosphere we can find is “My Soul” song in which the 6 minutes are full of ritual-like voices and arpeggios. The language here is Latin but soon the black metal explodes with the great, mythical “Primordial”. The riffs and the drums beats are still bound to the very first black/death time, as the vocals are more growling than screamed. The catchiness of the riffs and the awesome refrain contribute in making this song a true cult in the Italian panorama. The solo is surprisingly excellent and full of tapping parts, adding the macabre sensation but always with an eye to the old school thrash metal.

“Astral Bewitchment” is a slowly, rotten progression. The old Black Sabbath riffs are clearly an influence for the ones on this song but during the faster parts we can always find influences from thrash metal for the simple and crunchy riffage. The production is good because all the instruments are quite clear, even for the bass and nothing overcomes in volumes. The same can be said for the following “Funeral Chant” in which the slow progression comes with the arpeggios, the sound of the bells and a truly foggy atmosphere. The use of the female vocals is something very similar to the early Opera IX style and even the doomy, rotten sections somehow are bound to what Opera IX would have done of their debut album in 1995.

“Larve” is different in terms of speed and dynamism but not for the general atmosphere of pure obscurity and desecration. The sounds come out directly from a crypt but as always, the guitar solos are precise and fluent, giving the right dark touch. The children’s chant and the horror atmospheres of “Tregenda (Dance In Shroud)” soon comes and even the more doom/black elements are just creepy and full of weird interludes. “13th Way” has a few excellent, fast overtures and the general structure is quite full of tempo changes and this is good because too many slow parts could actually be a bit too heavy, being not that various and mostly pointing on the sheer gloominess. The slow interludes of “Chains” add more atmosphere in this path for the total darkness.

“Medium Mortem” is more violent despite not being that fast and the doomy, frightening bass notes of “Occult Abyss” introduce a long series of fast paced drums with the dark riffs that follow leading us to the end of this important if not perfect example of occultism in Italy. Here we have an album that is considered a true, small cult and not only in my country and I hope it will receive more attention in the future.