Mhorgl - Heresiarch

Australia's Mhorgl unleash their third album and it hits harder than Hell's batallion could ever. Drawing on influences like Setherial, Destroyer 666, and Absu, there is very little in the way of melody or avant-garde works here- this is pure, thrashing Speed Black Metal. Within this arsenal listeners will notice the drums are the focus as they lead the charge because they never let up- relentlessly sounding like an eternal belt fed machine gun, on a track like the opening "Inheriting The Mantle Of Power," the skill behind the drumming sounds inhumane. Of course, this has its downsides as well, since having a full going battery can make everything else a bit hard to hear, as well as keep pace. The guitars shred like no other in their Thrash-Black Metal hybrid style while trying to add in some doses of melody here and there with the riffs, but overall the speed overtakes everything. And then the vocals- which sound very similar to that of Absu- tend to run into the problem of being overshadowed by the rest of the music, such as on "Black Wolf Militia," but they are still audible, just difficult to understand. On a track like "Terror Manifesto" they have their clearer moments, and the guitars have a bit of a shriek to them that is certainly terrifying; some could compare this to the mid era works of Dark Funeral which is also known for its harsh, yet clear sound.

Each track is pretty short, partially due to the speed and tempo of each one, but the shorter ones tend to ease things down a bit for breather interludes. While the staple sound of Mhorgl is 'soft free,' even a sound as powerful as that needs a bit of a break every once in a while before the nosebleeds occur. Tracks like "Soliloquy," one of the many interludes, are a huge departure from the blasting music that populates a song like "Impiety Storm" just before it. Here the distorted hyper guitars are gone with the drums on silent (probably reloading its batteries) and instead just melodic, pleasant guitar fills the speakers. These little bits can be likened to the interludes that were heard on early Old Man's Child or even the acoustic parts on Vital Remains, and they do their job just as well: attract the more eclectic Black Metal fans who think that music needs to be more than just riffs played at high speeds. Overall, 'Heresiarch' is just as solid as Mhorgl's past works. The band doesn't really break any new ground or jump the gun by trying something radical, but the formula works perfectly as it did for previous albums. Ultimately if one has been a fan since their debut, or is a fan of heavy Black Metal altogether, then this will be worth listening to.

  1. Inheriting The Mantle Of Power
  2. Ophidian Legacy
  3. Black Wolf Militia
  4. Ravenous Wargod
  5. The Seed Of Rebellion
  6. Fallen
  7. Hostis Humani Generis
  8. Impiety Storm
  9. Soliloquy
  10. Terror Manifesto
  11. The Hubris Of The Departed
  12. Purity