Madder Mortem 'Desiderata' review
Release date: 2006
Label(s): Peaceville
Duration: 54:47
Almost 2 years since the release of 'Deadlands', Madder Mortem return with a new line-up, a new record label and another new sound.
Details
- My Name Is Silence
- Evasions
- Plague on This Land
- Dystopia
- M for Malice
- The Flood to Come
- Changeling
- Cold Stone
- Hypnos
- Sedition
- Desiderata
- Hangman
Review
The album kicks off with the lead single "My Name Is Silence". The surprising catchy opener greets a new era of Madder Mortem's ever-changing sound. The doom influences have disappeared to give way to a more progressive sound that had only vaguely been heard on the bands earlier releases. Just one song in and it is already obvious that Madder Mortem are coming into their own.
We are then lead into a more commercial intro to the next song "Evasions" as vocalist Agnete M. Kirkevaag really shines through with her individual voice often switching from quiet whispers to bitter screams, whilst still maintaining a disturbing atmosphere.
Song three, "Plague On This Land", is almost a disappointment, a song that seeps into your subconscious and never quite grabs your attention, not a bad song by any means, simply a forgettable one.
The next track is a short intro entitled "Dystopia". It captures the true essence of Madder Mortem in just over 1 minute, due to the hypnotic voice of Agnete, the severe atmosphere and the ability to create something totally different to what people expect of a band with a female singer. No-one could ever label Madder Mortem anything other than original, which really shows on this record.
The next song, "M for Malice," is rather stereotypical Goth metal, with driving guitars and a constant chorus popping up from time to time, the song also makes use of Guitarist BP Kirkevaag on vocals, which compliments Agnete perfectly. "The Flood To Come" seems too repetitive, which is a shame as it has great potential and the lyrics are very well written. The opening of "Changeling" promises great things, though sadly fails to deliver.
Following the disappointing previous tracks, "Cold Stone" really stands out as one of the best songs on the album, a sound that builds up from a simple bass and voice duet, to a choral arrangement with full choir like vocals and powerful drums courtesy of Mads Solas before crashing down to the epic yet melodic "Hypnos". Another song that follows from the disappointment of "Changeling" is "Sedition", a song that has no distinguishing attractions, frankly, anything the song offers can be found in better form in any other song on "Desiderata" excluding "Changeling".
The title track follows and despite it not being instantly accessible, it soon embeds into your memory. Every single instrument on this song is played with extreme precision and leads to this song being one of the highlights of the album.
"Hangman" concludes Desiderata with a false sense of peace and calm, the opening verses are accompanied by a soothing composition, which then gives way to a grandeur riff ending the album the way it started, with extreme power and breathless vocals.
Desiderata has something for everyone, and is certainly a great album. The record promises great things to come from Madder Mortem. Four albums into their career and they're only just beginning...
7/10