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/:: Artist :: Officium Triste ::\
:: Album :: Mors Viri ::
:: Year :: 2022 ::
:: __ _ _ __ ::
-:--\\-----------------------------------------------------------------//--:-
:: \ / ::
:: . Genre :: Metal Source :: CDDA . ::
:: Label :: Mutilation Productions R.date :: 21.07.2022 ::
_::__ Cat.nr. :: MUTP350 Size :: 92,5 MB __::_
::// \\::
::/---------------------------------------------------------------------\::
:: ::
/: Encoder :: LAME 3.100 -V0 :\
..: Bitrate :: avg. 272kbps : .
. Quality :: 44,1kHz/Joint-Stereo .
. .
Website ::
__ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __
.\\\\------- : | ---\ /---------------------\ /--- | : -------////.
+/ -\------- | | ----\ tracklist /---- | | -------/- \+
/: . : : . :\
/:: ::\
:: 01. Your Fall from Grace 07:16 ::
:: 02. Burning All Boats and Bridges 06:02 ::
:: 03. Your Heaven, My Underworld 05:37 ::
:: 04. Interludium 01:37 ::
:: 05. To the Gallows 06:58 ::
:: 06. The Wounded and the Dying 06:35 ::
:: 07. One with the Sea (Part II) 03:23 ::
:: 08. Like Atlas 10:08 ::
:: ------- ::
.. >> 47:36 min ..
__ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __
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+/ -\------- | | ----\ release notes /---- | | -------/- \+
/: . : : . :\
/:: ::\
:: ::
:: One of a large group of Dutch bands playing melodic or ::
:: atmospheric doom death in the mid-Æ90s, Officium Triste ::
:: took much longer to reach my ears than the likes of ::
:: Celestial Season, Madder Mortem, Crystal Darkness, and The ::
:: Gathering. Unlike some of those outfits, this sextet never ::
:: veered too far away from their original sound and, except ::
:: for a brief break-up, have steadily delivered the goods for ::
:: more than 25 years. Oddly, Mors Viri was released during ::
:: the longest dry spell of recording in the bandÆs history, 6 ::
:: years after Giving Yourself Away and another 6 before The ::
:: Death of Gaia. Sure, things have always been rather gradual ::
:: in the doom underground, though complications with finding ::
:: a deal may have arisen after recording this fifth full- ::
:: length in 2011, since Officium Triste had to wait nearly 2 ::
:: years for a release on Hammerheart Records. ::
:: ::
:: Patience is a virtue, and patient listeners should reap the ::
:: rewards of Mors Viri. IÆve always felt that the Sabbathian ::
:: doom of Saint Vitus, the deathly approach of Cianide, and ::
:: even the epic doom of Candlemass are more immediate affairs ::
:: than Officium TristeÆs atmospheric variety, because I can ::
:: count on being entertained by riffs. Here, things happen ::
:: much more gradually, melodies a perfectly fine way to ::
:: sustain a song for much of its length, while subtle ::
:: features of keyboard or even wholly understated ::
:: compositions such as the bleak ripples of æOne with the Sea ::
:: (part II)Æ arrive as often as dominant guitar parts. That ::
:: may sound like a long-form approach to playing, yet Mors ::
:: Viri runs to only 48 minutes and sees just the predictably ::
:: struggling æLike AtlasÆ clock 10 minutes. The rest average ::
:: closer to 6 or 7, but the emotive feeling I know from The ::
:: GatheringÆs debut or AnathemaÆs The Silent Enigma is ::
:: strongly present, making Pim Blankenstein just as likely to ::
:: darkly narrate his lyrics as roar them out to the elements. ::
:: No rockstar bullshit from the lead guitars either: plenty ::
:: of beautiful sinuous leads unfurl at a gradual ebb. ::
:: ::
:: The gradual quality of the music thus means that individual ::
:: songs donÆt jump out. æYour Heaven, My UnderworldÆ taps ::
:: into a little more rhythm guitar groove without really ::
:: becoming very heavy, while æTo the GallowsÆ does an ::
:: interesting job of mixing meaty chugs and low death growls ::
:: with a keening clean chorus that Amorphis could have ::
:: penned. Generally speaking, I struggle with the pacing of ::
:: even these most interesting songs though, waiting for a ::
:: moment that lets loose instead of altering dynamics from ::
:: subtle to overpowering. Officium Triste lumber on through ::
:: all 8 tracks without breaking into freer medium-pace, which ::
:: I can tolerate when reading or listening passively but not ::
:: when paying full attention. æThe Wounded and the DyingÆ ::
:: comes closest to release in this manner and perhaps offers ::
:: the heaviest overall experience: even then, Mors Viri ::
:: remains richly detailed but only moderately engaging. ::
:: ::
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