Bearing a cover with computer-generated comic book Nazis, I didn’t know quite what to expect from this sophomore album of Canadian band, Mortör. Naturally the themes of war and weaponry (as further evidenced in their song titles) hinted at thrash bands such as Sodom and Slayer, and the album title itself, at computer games. Though it was only when delving into some of the lyrics, that a penchant for the clichés of 80s action movies also became apparent:
Ultimate badass, with all guns blazing
Imminent war is all I’m here for.
Thrill seeker, soul taker – Death bringer, heart breaker
Gunslinger, life taker – Vigilante’s what I am.
(‘Eat Lead’)
Conceptually, it’s as if Anthrax’s ‘Lone Justice’ never happened…
When it comes to the music, however, Mortör are not a tongue-in-cheek retro thrash band. Armed with a clear and powerful production, the intro to their album quickly sets the scene with some heavy bass, down-tuned guitars and a solid drum sound. Having read a few internet sources championing the band’s brand of death/thrash, I was naturally geared up for a fast and furious ride once the intro was through. To my surprise, any expectations of frenzy were quickly crushed as ‘Under the Flag’ commenced. Instead of face-ripping riffs and mental-fast drum patterns, Mortör serve up a few subdued blasts, some mid-paced stop-start riffs, with a gruff bark on top. In addition, a liberal amount of groove and something similar to Machine Head’s second album really made me question if I was in the right mp3 file. In terms of labels then, I would refer to this more as ‘mid-pace/death/groove/thrash’ so as not to mislead any other unsuspecting numbskulls such as myself.
Aside from some odd death metal flourishes in guitar and drum departments, nothing particularly violent occurs throughout. And it’s not even until the first few tracks have gone by that some concrete insight is gained as to where this band is really coming from. Once ‘Clusterfuck’ emerges, with its bygone Six Feet Under quality – in riffing, harmonics, drum patterns and vocal delivery – the album does start to make a bit more sense. Evidently the death aspect to the band is more along the lines of Barnes’ creation, and Amon Amarth than, say, Malevolent Creation. The main problem – and perhaps where this whole thing managed to melt my brain so successfully – is that Mortör’s approach is fundamentally un-explosive. It’s just not as dynamic, engaging or as crushingly heavy as it could have been. With fourteen tracks, ‘Shoot ’em Up’ is also far too long; especially considering how the compositions tend to merge almost anonymously with one another.
A couple of exceptions to the above complaint might be the Maiden-esque melody of ‘Days of Our Knives’ or the strange bass present in ‘Let’s Deflagrate’, but otherwise, I struggle to recall much. Expectations should not shade everything, and so even though I was hoping for something more along the lines of Defleshed or The Crown, I would have been more receptive had the style not been quite so mild and nondescript. Combined with such inexcusably daft lyrics, it can only be…
(6/10 Jamie Wilson)
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