Mithridatum – Harrowing
Mithridatum – Harrowing
Willowtip Records
Release Date: 03/02/23
Running Time: 34:39
Review by Dark Juan
9/10
One is seated at the table in Crow Cottage, idly wondering whether one should go and have a cup of tea, gazing at one’s laptop, seemingly unable to conjure words from the lump of sadly abused grey cheese that sits inside one’s head, after returning from a sojourn up the canal in Sowerby Bridge and wondering whether that really was Aaron Stainthorpe of My Dying Bride that I saw in Halifax earlier when I was on my way to The Range to get some paint for Mrs Dark Juan (I have convinced her to paint the horrors that inhabit her brainspace temporarily, mainly because THEY WILL NOT COME TO LIFE AND BUTCHER US ALL, unlike her sculptures) when I chose to listen to a band called Mithridatum (being the act of developing immunity to poisons by ingesting small, sub-lethal doses of them repeatedly. Thank me later, fact fans!) and their debut album “Harrowing” (a word that really sounds like it should belong to one of the Entities from The Magnus Archives) because Dark Juan does not like to be sat idle and bored and there is only so much Yes, Minister you can watch before you start to suffer ennui and we all know the Devil makes work for idle hands. No, not compulsive masturbation, you sick fucks….
Mithridatum boast members from both The Faceless and Abhorrent, and play the kind of dissonant Blackened Death Metal that makes Dark Juan weep for what passes for joy in his blighted psyche, and they play this with a technical edge that is as savage as it is impressive – the songs are extremely intelligently arranged with a keen understanding of space, for all the insane speed and bludgeoning power. The music is allowed to breathe and the complexity of arrangement in the songwriting is jaw-droppingly expert. This Hellpriest is reminded of Protosequence and Damim and Fractal Generator in the sheer density of sound and what the musicians can achieve on their instruments. The whole album is a demented, ever faster merry-go-round with blades on the edge of it that will eviscerate innocents who get too close to the ever-increasing, rapidly accelerating, screaming madness.
I can’t even find the superlatives to describe the simply exemplary guitar work on this album – Marlon Friday and Lyle Cooper are seemingly possessed of far more digits and flexibility thereof than us mere mortals and they flit effortlessly up and down their respective fretboards flaying their fingertips (Cooper doubling up on bass as well as playing the equally astonishingly complicated drums) while vocalist Geoff Ficco seems to be absolutely intent in vomiting up his liver and lights as he grunts and roars like there’s a demon screaming to get out of him.
Not since Protosequence has Dark Juan been so excited by the level of sheer technical mastery of a band. Mithridatum owe very little to the roots of Death Metal and rather more to Black Metal, ‘Silhouette’ being a prime example of this, being as it channels “In The Nightside Eclipse” era Emperor rather than, say, Deicide or Morbid Angel. Mithridatum are one of the few bands that have gripped Dark Juan because of their undeniable mastery of their instruments, rather than for the imagery their music conjures up in Dark Juan’s head. It’s a terrifying hellride through the farther reaches of dissonance and power. There are no standout tracks on the record because they are simply all superb.
The production on the album is a little waspish and lightweight although it’s easily listenable (putting a heavier than plutonium bottom end on this style of music can rob it of all subtlety, however, and it is the sheer attention to detail on the playing that sets this record apart from many others) and the guitars can sometimes buzz occasionally and the dissonance can grind your gears if you aren’t prepared for it, but such is the price of virtuosity. The drums are also curiously low in the mix, but the cymbals aren’t and the crash overpowers the rest of the instruments now and again.
It has to be said that Willowtip Records are releasing some absolute gems at the moment, so use Mithridatum as your gateway drug to a really good roster of Metal from a fine label.
In short, then, with “Harrowing” you get five lengthy tracks of colossally competent Hypertech Death Metal that are more Metal symphonies than songs, due to the bewildering array of movements and time changes within each individual song, so if complexity, repeated listening and incredible attention to detail are your bag, you’re gonna fucking love Mithridatum.
Dark Juan does.
The Patented Dark Juan Blood Splat Rating System awards Mithridatum 9/10 and has deducted one mark for the following two reasons – it wants more songs on the album and has occasionally dodgy production. Otherwise, “Harrowing” is a full-throttle explodathon through the darkest bits of your psyche that you all really should experience.
Good morning.
TRACKLISTING:
01. Sojourn
02. Silhouette
03. Mournful Glow
04. Lower Power
05. The Passageway
LINE-UP:
Lyle Cooper – Guitar / Bass / Drums
Geoff Ficco – Vocals
Marlon Friday – Guitar
LINKS:
Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Dark Juan and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
