Mortuary Drape – Wisdom Vibration Repent EP
Mortuary Drape – Wisdom Vibration Repent EP
Peaceville
Release Date: 11/02/22
Running Time: 23:00
Review by Chris Galea
8/10
Mortuary Drape are veterans of the Italian underground Metal scene from the 1980’s that forever remained underground, whether by choice or by fate. The band never embellished their music with, say, symphonic elements or polished sounds that might have catalysed their fame. Case in point is this new release, the enigmatically-titled “Wisdom – Vibration – Repent”.
Essentially this EP has its main roots in early Black Metal (think Venom, Bathory….) but with that Mortuary Drape infuse strong elements of Doom, old-school Thrash and even, to an extent, Prog Metal. All this makes for a music style that is original and bold. Sometimes the music lacks tightness but the band seems more concerned with creating dark and murky atmospheres and that is something with which Mortuary Drape are quite adept. The sound is raw but the band seems to be in control of that rawness.
On guitars, D. C. and S. R. provide a satisfying balance of riffs and solos, as exemplified in ‘Circle Zero’ – a song with constantly evolving tempos while the bass always remains conspicuous.
Besides 4 original numbers, Mortuary Drape have thrown in a cover of Mercyful Fate’s ‘Nightmare Be Thy Name’ which, surprisingly enough, fits in quite well with the band’s sound. Of course the Italians do not even try to replicate King Diamond’s spine-chilling screams. The singing of Wildness Perversion (Mortuary Drape’s singer) is decidedly more guttural. Speaking of whom … for the first few years of the band’s existence, Wildness Perversion used to play drums with Mortuary Drape, then he added lead vocals to his band duties. As far as I know, this “Wisdom – Vibration – Repent” is the first Mortuary Drape release where he has relinquished his role as a drummer and puts 100% of his efforts into lead vocals.
Anyway, trivia aside, “Wisdom Vibration Repent” is a good place for latecomers to start discovering the band. It also marks the beginning of a relationship with the record label that at one point or another was home to Cradle Of Filth, Autopsy, Behemoth, Candlemass, Darkthrone….to name a few.
Now I await a proper full-length, eager to see if Mortuary Drape can take things to the next level.
‘Nightmare Be Thy Name’ – Mercyful Fate Tribute, Live
TRACKLISTING:
01. In A Candle Flame 02. All In One Night
03. Nightmare Be Thy Name (Mercyful Fate cover)
04. Circle Zero
05. Where Everything Falls
LINE-UP:
Wildness Perversion – Vocals
D. C. – Guitar
S. R. – Guitar
S. C. – Bass
M. T. – Drums
LINKS:
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