MORTIFEX
“MORTIFEX”
Album Review by Iron Mathew

8/10

Mortifex are a thrash metal band from the USA formed in 2018, releasing their self titled debut album in 2019.

Thundering into sight, the debut album from American thrashers Mortifex is a stunning blend of traditional heavy metal and old school thrash. Think Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Testament and Slayer, and you’ll get the idea… Mortifex deliver eight songs across forty minutes, each one full of energy and urgency. ‘War Cries’ launches the album in a ferocious barrage of savage riffage. Blunt and brutal, ‘War Cries’ is immediate thrash to head bang to. If you’re looking to give your neck muscles a workout, pop this album in the player, turn the volume up, press play and let it take you over. Ferocious and feisty, the album marches on with the fast and furious ‘On A Mission’. Upping the levels of energy, tempo and bombast, ‘On A Mission’ accelerates at high velocity and will nod your head vigorously.

Suddenly, all pace dissipates, to be replaced with a mid tempo heavy foot stomp of wrecking ball devastation – only for ‘Human Decay’ to switch back to high speed in the blink of an eye, or more precisely, a bang of the head…! ‘Human Decay’ displays traits from all four of the “big4” as it strides on to a conclusion. The urgency and out and out pace returns to the album in glorious fashion with ‘Dying Heroes’. A thrash metal assault of a most savage nature, ‘Dying Heroes’ is as much old school thrash as it is traditional heavy metal. Mortifex have melded the sounds of these two genres to produce a highly infectious mix. And let me be honest right here, traditional heavy metal and thrash are two of my three favourite styles of metal, the third, power metal.

‘Distant Shores’ is a bold, blunt and in your face attitude laden thump. With pace and power injected after the opening stomp, ‘Distant Shores’ is brash thrash of a most savage nature. ‘Who Are You’, thankfully not a cover of The Who classic, but a cover of the Black Sabbath song, from the bands 1973 album ‘Sabbath Bloody Sabbath’. This cover by Mortifex is beefier than the original and is a mix of varying metal and rock styles – obviously metal and rock, but detectable is the sound of classic rock, progressive metal and a little of the alternative style too. Mortifex have really stretched their musical boundaries with this cover, as the title is a question the band may ask themselves every time they look in the mirror. Just a thought… The boundary stretching doesn’t stop there either, ‘Hallucinating’ takes a foray into the death and hardcore genres of metal, vicious vocals hitting hard with a savage grunt. Musically, ‘Hallucinating’ is almost barbaric in its attack, pummelling the senses into submission with blunt force. Final song on the album is the most brashy and thrashy on offer. The heavy hitting ‘Destiny’ is full force thrash metal at its most savage. Vigorous head banging will ensue as ‘Destiny’ brings the album to a glorious finish.

Overall, a savage barrage of thrash from all four corners of the genre, breaking boundaries into the death and traditional heavy metal genres too.

TRACKLIST

War Cries
On A Mission
Human Decay
Dying Heroes
Distant Shores
Who Are You
Hallucinating
Destiny

http://www.mortifex.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Mortifex/

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