Mordax

Slaughter EP

Written by: PP on 09/01/2011 14:22:13

The primary problem with the Danish metal scene and why it is mostly contained within the borders of this country despite consisting of a horde of different bands is very simple. Identity, it seems, is a foreign concept never introduced to the young bands in the scene, all attempting to sound like the past greats without much success. Granted, Mordax, from Copenhagen, don't necessarily sound exactly like the melodeath greats in Soilwork and At The Gates, but like so many other Danish bands, it's immensely difficult to try and pigeonhole them into a subgenre of metal. They borrow elements from Bay Area thrash, use some brutality from death metal (old school, mostly), but the resulting cocktail can't be described as anything else but simply metal.

Ultimately, that's exactly what Danish bands go for: sounding metal. The problem is, the Danish interpretation of that term is one that lacks identity entirely, nevermind a unique sound that would place them visibly on the map of European metal. Why all this ranting? Because Mordax suffers from these very problems. They can't decide whether they want to play melodic death, thrash metal, or death metal, but just throw all styles in together resulting in a sound that's both anonymous and nothing-saying. Luckily, their guitarists are talented, so they save "Slaughter" from disaster with solid melody lines that often also translate into reasonably catchy melodeath choruses, delivered in all growl by Asbjørn Steffensen. A good example can be found in "A Slaughter In The Dark", where some unconventional riffing suddenly morphs into lots of melody and a catchy, albeit gruff bark during the chorus section. More of this, and "Slaughter" would be a completely different beast.

Based on their debut EP overall, however, lots of work needs to be done. Most importantly, Mordax need lots of work to develop a sound that's their own, but also work on their songwriting in general so more brutality/melody contrasts like the track I just mentioned appear. It's not bad per say, but pales in comparison to international competition, like so many other Danish bands playing a similar style.

6

Download: A Slaughter In The Dark
For the fans of: Danish metal
Listen: Myspace

Release date Spring 2010
Self-Released

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