Irae/Moribund - "Our Worship to Epidemic Suicide and Death of the World" (War Arts Productions, 2016)

Bands: Irae/Moribund
Title: Our Worship to Epidemic Suicide and Death of the World
Genre: Black Metal
Year: 2nd December 2016
Time: 29 min
Rating: 68/100












Another split-tape released by War Arts Productions and another journey into the abyssic depths of the rawest Portuguese black metal. But this time there is only one band from Portugal, that is Irae, because the another one, Moribund, comes from the sunny California (USA). So, here you are a split titled "Our Worship to Epidemic Suicide and Death of the World" that offers 3 tracks per band, and each of them is conceived to want dead same listeners, as you can see reading the promo sheet of this tape.

This perverse journey starts with Irae. Irae, that belongs to the now famous Black Circle's sect (Mons Veneris, Vetala and other bands), is the prolific one-man band founded in 2003 of Vulturius (also member of the great Morte Incandescente) which, curiously, doesn't release a studio album under the name Irae since 2008 rather prefering the minor productions.

Now, the Irae's side is surely the most various, without forgetting that every its song is a bit shorter and decisively faster than the previous one. In fact, the initial "O Castigo de Deus" is a nocturnal and melancholic mid-tempo with a infectiously groovy and punkish edge, some slowdowns à la Celtic Frost and fantastic and serpentine basslines during the very last moments of the song. Instead, the following "Com Uma Foice Para Vos Ceifar" is an incredibly dynamic number able to range from even heavy metal mid-tempos to blast-beats assaults through doom moments. Finally, Irae unleash completely its own rage and hate with "Warlord of Satanachia", that's simply its more violent song, also if always played through a raw but melodic and melancholic riffing without guitar solos. In addition to all this, the vocal performance of Vulturius is great, spewing forth a bunch of tormented screams with some growls and few desperate but ruvid clean vocals (like in the second song), often overdubbing all these vocals also reinforced by freezing echoes.

Speaking now about Moribund, this Californian duo has a very strange story: born in the now far 2004, it looks that, according to Metal-Archives, they have released many demos never officially released until 2009, when one of them saw finally the (black) light ("Into the Depths"). But now Moribund seems to prefer the split format and, in fact, "Our Worship..." is their second split of their scant official discography.

Said all this, yet "New Order...Black Holocaust" starts with its so terribly lugubre and distressing intro, I can't believe it! Moribund plays exactly like the French Black Legions' bands, specifically reminding to me Belketre, Mutiilation and Vlad Tepes! In fact, everything in Moribund is very close to their bands, from the disturbed production ("disturbed" especially regarding the guitars) to the so totally sick vocals that there are also possessed falsettos (as in "In Disease and Maledictions You Shall Rot"). So, the black metal of Moribund is claustrophobic but also very dynamic considering its many tempo changes ranging from slow chasms to violent blast-beats also into the same song (of which the main example is "New Order...Black Holocaust" with its 7 delirious minutes circa of lenght). But the songs of Moribund don't present real musical differences between them, hence their music is very homogeneous compared with the most various one of Irae.

To ending this review, "Our Worship to Epidemic Suicide and Death of the World" shows two different ways to express a raw black metal deep-rooted in the '90s of the genre: in fact, Irae plays in a melancholic and melodic version while Moribund in a more claustrophobic and agonizing one. Of them, I prefer the Irae (Rating: 72) being more emotive and various than Moribund (Rating: 65), who, anyway, evokes a very evil atmosphere. 

Tracklist:

1 - O Castigo de Deus (Irae)
2 - Com Uma Foice Para Vos Ceifar (Irae)
3 - Warlord of Satanachia (Irae)
4 - New Order...Black Holocaust (Moribund)
5 - The Catacombs of Their Demise (Moribund)
6 - In Disease and Maledictions You Shall Rot (Moribund)

Line-up Irae:

Vulturius - vocals/guitars/bass/drums

Line-up Moribund:

Tenebre Negra - vocals/guitars/bass
Old Beast - drums

BandCamp Irae: http://irae666.bandcamp.com/
FaceBook Irae: https://www.facebook.com/IRAE-136936839703562/
BandCamp Moribund: https://moribund.bandcamp.com/
War Arts Productions: http://www.war-arts-productions.com/