Review: Formed from the raw swamp of subconscious emotions, desires and fears, Mortem strikes with an immersively rhythmic assault of raw riffs and relatively technical European-style death metal discursive variation, finding a balance in the overall structure of these songs to deliver the listener through cycles of evolutionary thought into themes and rhythms of commonality. Enjoying the abrupt, this band alternate between structures with no warning and in the style of the South American school, make sense of their riffs in context of song structure and in that mindset often dive or leap to a change unpredictably, with a fire of acquisition.
Rolling riffs of fast tunneled tremelo connect songs in a sequence of tone and rhythm, flowing into one another and rejoining on the snap command of circular song structure to begin again a cycle. The band drops into rhythms nicely and then seamlessly accelerates, driving anthems of dissent with fast and precise grindcore drumming under a hoarse and hollowed voice of gutted vocal cords. While at some points riff salad prevails, it is as in bands like Massacra unified by core rhythm and sense of structure in motion, and the resulting interchanging series of circular structures provides for mazelike yet concise songwriting.
Heaving between death metal technique and an unleashed grindcore speed thrill that escapes in riffs made from only the basic oscillations and interval motion from which music is composed, these songs pack in a showcase of facile riffs and transition material from this highly flexible and proficient band. Reinforcing a basic agility and adept touch of kinetic science, songs rise and fall within a framework of ideas presented as clusters of riffs. Dynamic variation to form fit motif and texture refines songs to a focused, energetic motion.
From the school of chaotic and lawless music in opposition to all that is Mortem realize from scattered elements of a voice of the South American scene that fuses black/death into a searing delivery of essential alienation in music of amorphous but recognizable structure. With this album these Peruvians fully illustrate technique and concept unified in drive toward musical aggression.
