Beauty has no bounds. The emotional lyrics captivate and ensnare the senses. Begin the journey into the dark, illuminating, savage world of internal struggles, anger and battle with depression. This is what you can expect from Cyprus basedMelodic Death/Doom Metal troupe MORTEM ATRA.The evidence can be found in their upcoming debut album A Dark Lament.
I start my observation into this piece by sampling the first track Prologue. Thisascends into a powerful haunting introduction, it is performed by the spoken word and it sets the path into the vast nothingness of a world of despair. The words uttered during this song send an intoxicating message to its listeners setting the scene of the tale that is yet to come.
Frozen Illusion containsgruff harrowing vocals that carry the point of the story across behind the lyrics. The crescendo of guitars create the atmosphere by using haunting powerful riffs being projected by its user.
The Puppet is dominated by the symphonic element of an array of clean vocals that harmonise together beautifully. These are then cemented together by the keyboard melody and then a powerful thunderous harsh gruff vocal. The theme of the song is about a person who is a proverbial puppet that is governed by their emotions, that is causing a paranoid dim view on their world.
A Voice portrays the imaginary from the prospective of the mental well-being of a depressive mind. The keyboards add a harrowing touch to the piece. Meanwhile, the gut-wrenching growl pierces the soft symphonic melody and rips it out with a forceful powerful guitar riff.
Evil Rise starts off with a strong fierce drum solo that then leads to a fast-paced guitar riff. The haunting dark sound of the keyboards follows this. This song focuses on the fantasy element talking about the supernatural and witchcraft.
Whilst listening to Hymn of Doom, I grew to believe that this approaches a very dark and morbid subject. A tale of a young women who lived a sinful life that meets her end in a tragic way and is discovered in a graveyard. The lyrics roared out over a soft melody of guitars and keyboards. The verse that captivated me was “dead frozen fury midnight is here evil wind of glory”
In Superstitious Breath is an unexpected piece as the music that I have uncounted so far in our journey has featured gruff harsh vocals. The music flows with an introduction of a smooth haunting melodic voice. This piece takes us through the treacherous path of the inner pain that is foretold in the lyrics.
Mirror features beauty that grips you by the face and kisses you gently on the cheek. It also whispers down the ear and sends shivers down your spine. A melodic crescendo of guitars is introduced into the song and a haunting voice sings a sorrowful tale.
Harmful Obsession starts as a duet between between band vocalists Christina Papadjiakou and Takis Antoniou alongside the beautifully orchestrated guitars in the background seamlessly. Together these embrace the listener with a tale of the conflict of emotions.
Depressed is relevantly titled pieced based on the lyrics of the song. Dark, powerful and emotional. It describes the harrowing depths of the mind of a sufferer of depression. The vocalist portrays the song with a deep low guttural growl that’s full of pure raw emotion. The guitars are a force like thunder that come crashing through your senses like a soul crashing wave.
To sum up this album, it’s a firm steppingstone into the journey of the bands career. Talent and dedication are shown throughout definitely should watch out for future releases.
Rating: 8/10
Words: Becky Weale
A Dark Lament will be released 6th December via Pitch Black Records.
