Eight Ways

Norway’s progressive dark metal band, Madder Mortem have always been just that little bit different to other prog metal bands since their inception back in 1993. Not afraid to experiment, Madder Mortem went outside the box on their 'Desiderata' release in 2006. Yet again the band have pushed the boundaries with their new CD, entitled 'Eight Ways'.

Describing the new album can vary amongst listeners, but the progressive elements through the frenzy of sounds, groove guitars, doomy passages and peaceful yet powerful mellow atmospheric parts should just about cover what 'Eight Ways' contains. All this, entwined with the wild female vocalist Agnete Kirkevaag presents for a mind-altering listening experience.

Kirkevaag is not like the other female vocalists around. Whereas most female vocalists are quite harmonic and angelic, Kirkevaag on the other hand is near the other end of the spectrum. Her screechy high pitch wails sound rather raspy and raw, and may take some time to get used to if heard for the very first time.

Although at times the cauldron of mesmerizing harmonies and guitar riffs can be slightly over the top; some passages throughout the CD have just too much going on, thus distracting you from the songs. That’s not to say that Madder Mortem’s efforts here have gone to waste, far from it. The intelligent and enigmatic music born by the band is bizarre yet delicate and in-depth and will appeal to certain kinds of metal fans. I would speak of fans of Opeth, Tool and others who follow a similar structure; although no other band that I can think of that would equal Madder Mortem.

The CD begins strangely with the odd opening track "Formaldehyde". With a strong jazz infusion, the tracks begins subtle and smooth before eerie guitars start to wail and the tempo lifts. The track concludes with Kirkevaag bellowing out the tunes before a sudden stop. "A Different Kind Of Hell" has a dark and doomy feel to it, the song quite slow and brooding, with Kirkevaag’s vocals powerful and illuminating.

"Riddle Wants To Be" is another standout track. Starting slow and mellow, the tempo suddenly changes and again the crisp and precise guitars dig in again like daggers. "All I Know" is a beautiful ballad, sung very well by Kirkevaag. Semi-acoustic, the song glistens and glides along, with great passion and feeling. Non-threatening guitar grooves add a deeper element in the middle part of the track to give it more existence, and overall the song is one of the best. Many more songs could be described here, but I would like to mention "The Eight Wave" and "Armour" as more standout tracks on the album.

With so much exuberance within the CD, you are almost left drained by the experience, as all the musical pieces fit together in an imperfectly perfect way; much like a Picasso masterpiece. The band’s musical rollercoaster of passion, morbidity and alternation would appeal to fans of the dark progressive metal audience that would enjoy and understand Madder Mortem’s musical journey. Fans of jazz-fusion could also find themselves enjoying the musical talents of Madder Mortem. This band have always been deemed underrated, but hopefully with this album, driven by the previous 'Desiderata' should break through the clouds and reach the level of popularity they are entitled to.

Originally written for www.themetalforge.com (2009)

Madder Mortem have always been one of the better female-fronted bands out of Europe, in large part due to Agnete's creepy, sultry vocals that lend an almost dark jazziness to the gothic/groove metal mire they reside over. Their previous album Desiderata was a monster of an effort, with many instantly memorable tracks and no generic 'fairy metal' to be found. Eight Ways takes largely after that album, with more inherent progression.

"Formaldehyde" starts with a light, jazzy touch, the melody of the guitars foreshadowing some of the later vocal lines. Agnete's vocals escort the track to its climax and the band lets loose with another of their deep grooving rhythms. "The Little Things" is like a hybrid of Diamanda Galás and Korn. I know that sounds frightening, but it's better than you'd think. "Armour" is a powerful melodic number and one of the strongest on the album. "The Riddle Wants to Be" has a strong, seductive allure before it bursts open at the midpoint with proggy guitars. "Where Dream & Day Collide" bastardizes jazz, blues, and gothic metal into another of the album's highlights.

All this being said, while Eight Ways is more experimental and dynamic than its predecessor, the songs are not quite so catchy. There is no "My Name is Silence" or "Hypnos" on this record, two tracks I still listen to all the time. But at least it's an interesting album, and the band continues to sound like no other. It's the type of which takes a few listens to settle in, with little instant gratifaction but more long-term reward. Madder Mortem remains far superior to all the elfen shite fairy tale metal that plagues Europe, and really this band is in a world of its own.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

Norway’s Madder Mortem has been practicing its own rather unique style of metal for a good 16 years now and Eight Ways is the band’s fifth album. Like always the formula for the band includes bits of traditional metal, plenty of acoustic parts, progressive rock and a slight touch of doom and alt rock with loads of groove all held together by Agnete M. Kirkevaag’s completely unique and powerful vocals.

If that description sounds like it could be a bit of a mess, then worry not. The band is more than capable of writing great songs that are complex in arrangement but also quite catchy and memorable. Album opener Formaldehyde starts off slow and melodic before the band kicks things up a notch mixing a rumbling bass tone and heavy guitars with Agnete’s powerful voice. The Little Things is another superb song that mixes soft and heavy to great effect and sounds like The Gathering jamming with Arcturus. The highlight of the album though is the two songs in the middle. A Different Kind of Hell is held together by Agnete’s full bodied bellow and a cracking central riff while the largely acoustic When Dream and Day Collide once again plays out the band’s penchant for mixing soft and heavy to great effect and ends in an intense burst of heavy guitars and electronic noise.

There really isn’t a bad song here, just a bunch of great songs and a few good songs. The rhythm section is superb right through and the drum and bass interplay really adds its weight to these songs. The guitar duo of BP and Odd are pretty much spot on and sound at home whether playing big fat grooves or during the softer parts but the star of the show really is Agnete. Her voice goes from quiet and contemplative to a loud, rich bellow and shows off tremendous range often sounding more like a jazz singer than a vocalist for a metal band. Also, her vocal melodies really help in making these songs memorable.

Eight Ways is probably not an album that will appeal immediately but the more I listen to it the more I’m finding it difficult to find flaws. At the end of the day, if you’re a fan of this band then chances are you’ve got this already. If you’ve never heard of this band before then Eight Ways is pretty much the perfect place to start. Every good idea that the band has had in their last four albums has come to fruition on Eight Ways making this Madder Mortem’s best effort yet.

Originally written for http://www.kvltsite.com

Finally, I have figured out the feeling Madder Mortem latest offering-Eight Ways gives me. This reminds me of the first time I listened to Diablo Swing Orchestra's The Butcher's Ballroom. The music is not really the same but its one of those albums, music-wise, which is new, fresh and original that you'll find yourself falling in love with or totally hating. Well, this is my fast encounter with this band so am not familiar with their past work..but after listening to this and loving it as much as I do..I can't wait to check out their past work.

A Norwegian female fronted band that makes me want to scream out..GOD..I LOVE MADDER MORTEM because this album has surely tickled me the right way. Madder Mortem's music is interesting and kind of hard to point to specific metal sub-genre to. Its dark, gothic, heavy, atmospheric, jazzy but above all Powerful. Agnete Kirkevaag invites you to her beautiful troubled world. But though troubled as it may seem..there's also some hope around the corner..some light at the end of the tunnel. She has such a powerful voice and with which shes able to precisely convey a lot of emotion and energy channeling that magnificently into most of the tracks. Couple that with a strong be-witching scream and you know that Agnete means business

Eight Ways is not straight forward..for a first time listener It may take sometime to get used to. If you are just a casual listener then don't bother altogether. The album takes so many twists and turns..its impossible to predict what or where Agnete and Co are going next. On the opening track, "Formaldehyde", which is also one of my favorite off the album, the band kind of mellows you out at the start..with some nice jazzy moments, well-done synth only for the band to jump into this huge break-down with some awesome heavy riffing and at this time Agnete is screaming out 'TIIIIIMMMEEE' and 'BREEEEAAATTHHEE" like her very existence depends on it..at the end of it all..u just can't help but wonder, "what the fuck just happened there?"..absolutely AWESOME!!!! Another track to savor is "A Different Kind of Hell" I talked about Agnete's powerful voice earlier..she pulls out all the stops in this one. Also look out for Tormod-the bass player on this one..

Interesting Lyrics, fabulous song writing skills, excellent production, jazzy interludes..all round splendid performance but in particular that of Agnete Kirkevaag's. Folks, I don't think there's enough lip-service I can offer this album. Just go out and bloody buy Eight Ways