WRATH OF LOGARIUS - Crown of Mortis

all photos by David Engle

Das brutale und ordentlich pushende "Keeper of the Spectral Legion" gibt also den eigentlichen Einstieg zu "Crown of Mortis". Eine straighte, modern interpretierter Ambient Schwarzwurzel, mit düster aggressiver Grundauslegung, die zu meinen persönlichen Faves des Albums zählt. Auch beim darauffolgenden "Erosion" hagelt es Blastbeats satt. Trotz des derben Riffings von Urath und Vastador, dass sich gerne mal im Tremolo verfängt, sowie der machterfüllten Bleifuß-Mentalität von Prügelknabe Lord Marco setzen WRATH OF LOGARIUS auf zugängliche, sich phasenweise ausdehnende Strukturen, die in all der Leere nach den Sternen greifen. Auch "Of the Void" kommt furios und fetzig rüber, wird im Mittelteil aber atmosphärisch und nutzt auch hier die spacigen Tremolo-Gitarren. Nicht zuletzt auf "Long Dead the King" greifen die Bay Area Schwarzkittel auf ein abwechslungsreiches Repertoire zurück.

"The Ethereal Mist" wird vom Dialog zwischen Noctifer und Vilhelm (GRIMA, SECOND TO SUN, ULTAR) befeuert. Eine fette Komposition, gallig bis in die Haarspitzen. Weiter geht es mit dem facettenreichen und vielschichtigen "Lurker's Tomb", das mit seinen stakkatohaften Strukturen und dem perversen Gehämmer atmosphärische Unterstützung von den beiden Saitenakrobaten Urath und Vastador erhält. Auch das immer mal wieder einsetzende schräge, technisch verspielte Riffing wie beim Power Metal wirkt hier nicht unpassend. Nicht zuletzt mit der finalen Abschluss-Agonie "Dread" formen WRATH OF LOGARIUS ihr eigenes königlich-schwarzes Totenreich voller Finsternis, Furcht und Tod.

(Janko)

English version:

- Debut crowbar from the Bay Area Formless Black Metallers -

Even though WRATH OF LOGARIUS describe their debut album "Crown of Mortis" as formless black metal, the Bay Area extreme metallers' dark-souled, astral concept could just as easily be categorized as empirical ambient black metal. In the case of these doomsayers, "formless" doesn't mean that it's formless; rather, it clearly doesn't intend to adhere to any particular form. The four-in-hand from the foggy outskirts of San Francisco, which operated under the banner MARTYR LOGARIUS from 2021 to 2023 is clearly trying to distance itself somewhat from the genre-typical monotony, places a high emphasis on vicious, nasty, and fast blastbeat sequences. This powerful, even brutal, black metal doesn't skimp on melodic passages either, occasionally utilizing electronic influences such as sound layers and subtle frequency distortions to create atmospheric support. The Northern Californian four-piece provides, within the 37:12 minutes which "Crown of Mortis" has to offer, plenty of excitement and entertainment, especially through Noctifer's heretical, often drawn-out black metal vocal performance, his harsh, bilious ranting and his mighty, dark growling.

If you subtract the spoken-word interlude "Unfathomable" and the instrumental "Crypt," you're left with just seven compositions, each of which has been given a thorough dose of death and destruction by Cody Fuentes at Rapture Recordings Studio, where he worked on the powerful and earthy production, engineering, mixing, and mastering. The brutal and pushing "Keeper of the Spectral Legion" serves as the actual introduction to "Crown of Mortis." A straightforward, modern interpretation of ambient blackroot, with a darkly aggressive undertone, which is one of my personal favorites on the album. The following "Erosion" also features a barrage of blast beats. Despite the heavy riffing of Urath and Vastador, which occasionally gets caught in tremolos, and the power-filled, lead-foot mentality of whipping boy Lord Marco, WRATH OF LOGARIUS rely on accessible, occasionally expanding structures that reach for the stars in all this emptiness. "Of the Void" also comes across as furious and groovy, but becomes atmospheric in the middle section, again utilizing the spacey tremolo guitars. Not least on "Long Dead the King," the Bay Area black-skins draw on a diverse repertoire.

"The Ethereal Mist" is fueled by the dialogue between Noctifer and Vilhelm (GRIMA, SECOND TO SUN, ULTAR). A fat composition, bilious to the core. It continues with the multifaceted and multi-layered "Lurker's Tomb," whose staccato structures and perverse hammering receive atmospheric support from the two string acrobats Urath and Vastador. The occasional, offbeat, technically playful riffing reminiscent of power metal also doesn't seem out of place here. Not least with the final agony "Dread", WRATH OF LOGARIUS form their own royal-black realm of the dead full of darkness, fear and death.

(Janko)