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/:: Artist :: Morta ::\
:: Album :: La Espana Negra ::
:: Year :: 2023 ::
:: __ _ _ __ ::
-:--\\-----------------------------------------------------------------//--:-
:: \ / ::
:: . Genre :: Black Metal Source :: CD . ::
:: Label :: Signal Rex R.date :: 2024-08-30 ::
_::__ Cat.nr. :: SIGNAL242 S.date :: 2023-09-08 __::_
::// \\::
::/---------------------------------------------------------------------\::
:: ::
/: Encoder :: LAME 3.100 -V0 :\
..: Bitrate :: avg. 267kbps :..
. Quality :: 44.1 kHz/Joint Stereo .
. Size :: 78.71 MB .
. .
http://mortablackmetal.bandcamp.com/
__ __ _ . : _ ____ _ _ ____ _ : . _ __ __
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+/ -\------- | | ----\ tracklist /---- | | -------/- \+
/: . : : . :\
/:: ::\
:: 1. Requiem por una Espa±a fragmentada 1:58 ::
:: 2. La Caida de los infieles 5:37 ::
:: 3. La fe impura de un futuro envuelto en llamas 6:18 ::
:: 4. La Muerte Santa 6:03 ::
:: 5. Leyenda Negra del Tiempo 2:05 ::
:: 6. Mi invierno eterno 5:58 ::
:: 7. Estigia 5:58 ::
:: 8. Transustanciacion Diabolica 4:35 ::
:: ::
:: ::
:: ------- ::
.. >> 38:32 ..
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+/ -\------- | | ----\ release notes /---- | | -------/- \+
/: . : : . :\
/:: ::\
:: ::
:: Black metal has many faces, so it can be easy to forget that ::
:: its most well-known outside of the initiated is the ::
:: wind-whipped, moon-howling, corpse-painted, devil-worshipping ::
:: one. Just a glance at La Espa±a NegraÆs artwork reminds you, as ::
:: it manages to include a good many tropes of the genre. A ::
:: sacrificial altar complete with goat headûcheck. Skullsùcheck. ::
:: A defiled version of Christ on the crossùcheck. Monochromatic ::
:: color schemeùcheck. With this as their image, Morta give the ::
:: impression of trveness, and with their words, claim to take ::
:: influence from the whole of the genreÆs rich history, both ::
:: ôelder expressions from the æ90s and underground-entrenched ::
:: ones post-Y2K.ö As a debut, the album is key in cementing the ::
:: actualization of MortaÆs musical identityùpictures and words ::
:: being just that, pictures and words. So, in what way is La ::
:: Espa±a Negra trveùif indeed it isùand more importantly, is it ::
:: any good? ::
:: ::
:: While there is a great deal of second-wave influence to be ::
:: found in the scuzzily-toned washes of tremolo riffing, the odd ::
:: shriek, and blastbeats, thereÆs more to the story. Melodies ::
:: that mostly stay subtle and low-key edge into Dissection ::
:: territory when allowed to come forward (ôEstiga,ö ::
:: ôTransustanciaci≤n Diab≤licaö). At the otherùfar more ::
:: prevalentùend of the spectrum, the cavernous roars and ::
:: dissonant, clustered instrumentation comes a lot closer to the ::
:: most unwelcoming of death metal (ôLa Caφda De Los Infielesö ::
:: especially); the comparison that most sticks here is (perhaps ::
:: unexpectedly) Qrixkuor. While things calm down from that ::
:: opening track properùbecause yes, thereÆs an introùthere is a ::
:: prevailing, dissonant rumble and echo. The young band seem to ::
:: pull togetherùas indeed they claimùstrands from all sides of ::
:: black metalÆs trvest face, such that they actually sound like ::
:: no one in particular. The problem is that rather than thus ::
:: sounding unique, they still lack a strong identifying voice, ::
:: and so remain largely forgettable. ::
:: ::
:: An absence of overall distinctiveness doesnÆt preclude there ::
:: being some ripping, quality black metal here, and there is. ::
:: While relatively simplistic, the descending, ascending tremolos ::
:: of ôLa Muerte Santa,ö and the atmospheric escalations of ôMi ::
:: Invierno Eterno,ö and ôEstiga,ö are pretty gripping. In the ::
:: absence of vocals, closer ôTransustanciaci≤n Diab≤licaö enables ::
:: the frosty tremolos to gradually develop their scales against ::
:: an increasingly stripped-back backdrop, and past its peak ::
:: dissonance, even ôLa Caφdaàö has a pleasingly raw coldness to ::
:: it, extending to catchiness despite its repetitive pattern. ::
:: Morta also display diversity, and a proclivity to tap into ::
:: their cultural roots in the acoustic interlude ôLeyenda Negra ::
:: Del Tiempo,ö which is a beautiful, if basic piece of guitar ::
:: softly accented by the slightest of blackened atmospheres. ::
:: Another thing La Espa±a Negra has going for it is its ::
:: (comparatively) expansive production that gives the vocals ::
:: still more of an echo, and elevates its OG-style rawness to ::
:: something more pleasingly atmosphericùold-fashioned, but with a ::
:: modern twist. ::
:: ::
:: Essentially the stumbling block for the record is its seeming ::
:: disconnectedness. We jump from noise-covered orchestral ::
:: ôRequiem por una Espa±a Fragmentad,ö into what seems to be a ::
:: classic second-wave beatdown in ôLa Caφdaàö but which soon ::
:: becomes a deathened mash-up of OG black metal, that once ::
:: settled into something recognizable, vanishes from the mind as ::
:: soon as it ends. The breathless ôLeyendaàö, as lovely as it is, ::
:: sits awkwardly between the sinister, vicious ôLa Muerte Santa,ö ::
:: and the layered, melancholic melodiousness of ôMi Invierno ::
:: Eterno.ö And even as this, and the immediately following ::
:: ôEstigaö form the strongest segment of the albumùöEstigaöæs ::
:: dynamically developing theme holding more presence than ::
:: anything else hereùthe two feel tacked-together, and ::
:: indescribably unrelated in spite of their similar musical ::
:: proclivities. Similarly, as cool as ôTransustanciaci≤n ::
:: Diab≤licaö isùin fact, it includes some of the most gripping ::
:: composition of the lotùthe placement of this ::
:: four-and-a-half-minute instrumental at the very end just feels ::
:: a bit odd. ::
:: ::
:: Given that this is their first LP, La Espa±a Negra doesnÆt ::
:: forecast total doom and gloom (of the actually bad kind) for ::
:: Morta. The basics are handled pretty well, and the band ::
:: showcase a curiosity for atmosphere and darkly deathened ::
:: sensibility that has the ability to push their sound out of the ::
:: indiscriminate murk and into the distinctive. ::
:: ::
:: . _ _ . ::
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