Exordium Mors – Sworn To Heresy EP
Exordium Mors – Sworn To Heresy EP
Praetorian Sword Records
01/03/2025
Review by Oli Gonzalez
7/10
Exordium Mors. Hailing all the way from New Zealand, the band have spent two decades crafting and honing their sound in a land down under. 2025 will be a special year for multiple reasons. This year will see the band make an appearance in Europe for the first time ever, on a short run of shows in Serbia, Bulgaria and an appearance at Horns Up Festival in Greece. This will tie in nicely the release of their latest release, the 3 track offering that is “Sworn To Heresy”. This promises to be a new creative direction for the band with the departure of previous vocalist and a new tri-factor attack on the microphone, as well a new figure behind the sticks. As this is a new band to me, what will their approach to black metal be like and what can I expect ?
First impressions, this certainly seems to a more traditional approach to black metal. A throwback to maybe the early 90s of the genre. Especially given that solid raw thrash influence to the soaring lead guitar riffs and crunching power chord professions. Yet we’re not plagued with the horrible production values of that era. No, you can sense there’s been a lot of care and attention to the production which brings out the best of not only the lead guitars but also the pounding drums! The drummer known as The Nomad has seemingly been a stellar acquisition to the band. There seems to be subtle variations and nuanced differences to the vocal textures, the majority sitting within that breath midrange growl paradigm. Whilst the occasional introduction of more guttural lows adds welcome variety.
Therefore, fans of the early primitive days of that genre will be appeased by “Sworn To Heresy”. Though this traditional approach creates problems. What are the band doing to advance the genre and what unique spin are they offering ? A question I’m not sure I can answer. Whilst trying too hard to be original is counterproductive, staying too close to the sound of your key influences is equally problematic.
The song that stood out to me was…well, none to be truthful, simply because I couldn’t see enough variation for any to really stand out. One song seems to be blend into another without any real salience. Though at only 15 minutes or so, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s a succinct whistle stop tour of the band and what the offer. Would I want to check out more of Exordium Mors? Absolutely! So you could say “Sworn To Heresy” has achieved its goal.
TRACKLISTING:
01. Dawn Of The Crimson Sun
02. Torquemada
03. Oath
LINKS:
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