MORTIFY "Fragments At The Edge Of Sorrow" [CD, Digipak]
2022 - Black Metal from Greece
Detailed Description
Hailing from the city of Concepcion, Chile's MORTIFY formed in 2013. Since their inception through the present, the band has been influenced by various bands associated with the death metal genre, such as Exmortis (USA), Pestilence, Gorguts, Obituary, Edge of Sanity, and Death among others. In 2013, MORTIFY released their first demo, Sadistic Carnage, which was released on tape format by the Chilean label Veins Full of Wrath. In 2015 they released their first EP, Cryptic, on tape format in a self-managed way and then re-released on CD format by the Chilean label Faces of Terror in 2016, the latter edition of which included as a bonus track an early version of the song "Silence Existence," which would be re-recorded for MORTIFY's first album. Finally, in November 2017, the band released their debut album, Mortuary Remains, expanding their ideas and intentions with instrumental pieces and more elaborate lyrics. Mortuary Remains was released on tape format by Machalia Records and later on CD format by the Argentinean label El Conjuro Records. Although still something of an "insider tip" amongst South American maniacs, MORTIFY's brand-new second album, Fragments at the Edge of Sorrow, should surely put the Chileans on the wider international metal map. A conceptual album that invites the listener to travel through different sound passages, Fragments at the Edge of Sorrow shows MORTIFY expanding their already-considerable arsenal: songwriting that's slippery and surging in equal measure, disarmingly enunciated vocals and instrumental work - especially real, actual bass-playing - and a commitment to pushing progressive death metal into realms more mesmerizing and memorable. Indeed, it's that lattermost element where MORTIFY most impress here, never sacrificing hook or heaviness in favor of flashy displays of virtuosity (although those still exist, always in service of the song) and altogether displaying a narrative aspect to that songwriting. Incredibly dynamic despite being undeniably death metal, Fragments at the Edge of Sorrow shows evinces power and poignancy at every turn, even when those turns take quieter, eerily peaceful detours. Taken another way, Fragments at the Edge of Sorrow sounds a lot like its vivid cover artwork looks, courtesy of Colombian artist Julian Mora. MORTIFY hereby invite you to a new cosmos of progressive death metal!
