This is the second album from Exordium Mors, a black metal band from New Zealand.
It has been eight long years since 2014’s The Apotheosis of Death, but now Exordium Mors have returned triumphant with the 43-minute As Legends Fade and Gods Die.
Exordium Mors deliver an aggressive whirlwind of black and thrash metal, with some added death metal muscle on the side. There’s even a classic heavy metal influence which is great to hear. The band unleash sharp violence and ugly punishment with vile relish and lethal abandon. The music is all teeth, claws, blades, and venom, yet is not without nuance or texture. Feral and snarling the material may be, but the band still show enough restraint to be able to craft songs that hit the spot nicely.
There’s a blackened core that provides plenty of bite to the music’s assault. The thrash influences are gnarled and spiked, but also allow the band to develop the material to brutally epic proportions, taking the listener on a journey into extreme metal that is as enjoyable as it is charismatic.
Fast and technical, yet also savage and chaotic, Exordium Mors tread their own path. The songs are harsh and unforgiving, yet have hooks that are both unexpected and effective. Exordium Mors have attitude and intensity in buckets, yet also know how to pen a decent tune. Admittedly these are not exactly radio-friendly tunes, but dammit if they don’t get under your skin.
Smashing together the complex and the intricate with the melodic and the instantly gratifying, Exordium Mors have created a very satisfying and rewarding example of extreme metal.
Very highly recommended.
Wonderbox Metal 