Italian black-mass metal maestros Mortuary Drape have awakened with Spiritual Independence, their first album in 10 years.
Whereas previous album Buried in Time left many fans yearning for the ritualistic magic of old, Independence elevates the Drape’s command of the dark arts.
Gone is the mechanical, metalcore-esque sound of Time. Instead, the Drape has re-invoked the macabre aura, virtuosic musicianship and otherworldly songwriting that pervaded their early sound and disappeared after 2002’s Tolling 13 Knell.
The depraved vocal possessions of founding member and lone recurring entity Wildness Perversion are also at full strength.
From the moment of the first violin stroke in the intro track “The Hiss”, the air feels toxic. From there, Lithany consumes the listener in a dense fog of blackened thrash riffs and blood-curdling vocals, which have undergone a slight transformation. While Perversion’s trademark raspy incantations are present, his primal roar dominates the album, giving it a stronger death-metal vibe than previous outings.
Independence is also somewhat of a milestone – it marks the first time that Perversion has sat at the drum throne since their 1995 debut album, All the Witches Dance, and his presence is felt. Fills fall in all the right places and the double kick carries expert precision and creativity. Yet the drums never overwhelm the sound. They add layers to the music and flash in the negative spaces.
Liquid bass lines round out the rhythm section and continue to raise the bar for four-string excellence in black metal. In fact, if there’s one gripe with Independence, it is that the bass lines are sometimes buried beneath the guitars and drums.
That’s not to say that the production is a weak link. On the contrary, it is the kind of raw clarity that Time was missing. It neither sounds too modern nor too flat. With the exception of the occasional blurring of the bass guitar, the production is tailored for the Drape’s sound.
One of the Drape’s most remarkable traits, their ability to seamlessly transition between filthy heaviness and eerie tranquility, has somehow been taken up a notch. Tracks like “Once I Read (Marble Tomb)” and “Mortal Remains (Your Bones)” display limitless skill and taste in equal measure. The blazing solos and tremolo-picked riffs are infectiously memorable, while the classical, clean guitar lines add a balanced sophistication. They are the blood-red wine next to a choice cut of medium-rare meat.
The level of tasteful musicianship displayed on Independence is astounding.
Due to the level of technicality and a tempo that favors the red line, it makes sense to compare Independence to sophomore album Secret Sudaria. But to ignore its ties to the rest of their discography and the progression the band has made would be doing them a disservice.
Spiritual Independence finds Mortuary Drape at the peak of their power. The purple-clad heretics have re-established themselves as agents of immutable darkness. Rather than create an album to simply satisfy fans, they have unearthed a new relic of reverence. One that deserves its place at the altar of the black mass.
