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Gloria Morti

Anthems Of Annihilation

Written by: PP on 25/09/2010 21:24:18

Leave it to the Finns to craft something unusual in the death metal scene. Although a death metal fan by definition, Gloria Morti push the genre boundaries into a territory not often seen in connection with death metal, namely symphonic metal. Before The Dawn keyboardist Lars Eikind contributes majestic symphonies in the vein of Dimmu Borgir all across "Anthems Of Annihilation", the third outing by these guys. Occasionally, the band treads into black metal tremolo base as well, sometimes even using deathcore-ish blastbeat breakdowns to give the album lots of variety.

And variety is the name of the game throughout the album. There isn't a song which doesn't cycle through several different genres, which can easily lead into incoherency and inconsistency in sound, but luckily the guys have understood the power of a strong melody line. It has a red-thread kind of effect, tightly holding the songs together, which otherwise might've sounded too loose and too experimental for their own good. It can be a haunting piano melody courtesy of Eikind, or melodic black metal shrieks by vocalist Psycho, who owns a frightening vocal range that also sees him effortlessly dip into your typical death metal growl as well. Mostly, it's the symphonic elements though that make Gloria Morti an enjoyable listen. Parallels are constantly drawn to bands like Abigail Williams, Sycronomica and other similar bands, though these guys are somewhat more death metal in their core than the rest of them.

There's also an ambitious concept revolving around the album, about 'mankind making an irreversible mistake in trying to overcome all of its biggest problems', which is fortified by some spoken word samples by George Bush and others. It's one of those topics one tends to ignore, however, and the focus is kept in the richly layered soundscape instead. While it might not be the most original album given the context of bands I've already mentioned in this review, it still pushes the death metal boundaries enough to tickle my fancy, and enough for me to recommend it to the people who usually get their kicks out of symphonic black metal.

Download: Awakening Of A Discordant Machine
For the fans of: Dimmu Borgir, Abigail Williams, Sycronomica, Emperor
Listen: Myspace

Release date 30.07.2010
Cyclone Empire