Animicide

A pleasant surprise for a disc purchased on a whim. Since my writing skills are lacking, I need to reference other bands to try to get my point across, but Mordeth do have their own sound and shouldn't be thought of as a rip-off of any other band I mention. Take the futuristic themes and riff experimentation of Voivod, a dash of the disturbing riffs of Immolation, a vocalist that sounds like a cross between Snake and Brett Hoffman (early Malevolent Creation) and an early 1990's production and shake well. This sounds all well and good, but I must complain about a lack of dynamic. The songs seem to be all of a similar tempo (mid to slow paced) rarely visiting different bpms and the drumming (while rock solid) also seems to suffer from using the same patterns making the album a little boring. That said, however, the riffs are top notch, the lyrics thoughtful, the production a perfect balance of clarity and grittiness, and the tasteful solos, while being technically interesting, serve the song well without being overly wankerish. I guess my initial warning to not compare them to other bands is shot out of the water with 2 references to Voivod, but folks will find themselves nodding their heads in approval with how this death metal band has incorporated their Voivod influence instead of deriding them for lifting ideas .. but perhaps finding this album a little boring due to the mostly unvarying rhythm.