Madder Mortem
Deadlands

I am writing another review about bands and sounds that are alternative for my ears. In this case, even challenging. It was 2002 and I remember as if it were today the release of this album which left an impression on me because it sounds like the roar of a powerful metallic gray Harley put into the hands of a gloomy dark. The roar of Madder Mortem is modern, complex, and truly heavy. A band you wouldn't expect from a country not particularly advanced in this genre of things, indeed we're talking about Norway. So what is this Deadlands? It is a real piece of work (in the strict sense and also for the listener...) steeped in madness, epicness, something that speaks to us in gothic terms but above all an endless series of allusions to nu metal, which for the first time I can classify as "cultured", obsessive, and even filled with "times that were" in some riffs, given that I hear Voivod of The Outer Limits.

A spontaneous reflection comes to me, perhaps out of place, but listening to Madder Mortem I tip my hat and think about the path our Lacuna Coil instead took. There is an abysmal difference, especially for the courage it takes to present yourself to the public with an album so niche. Indeed, Deadlands is everything but (truly there is everything inside, but it is a granite and rocky amalgam that sounds powerful and shows no smudges) one of those discs that mimic "the" Korn (I don't mean to devalue Korn but only those who copy them) and seem to say "hello throwaway people, come buy me, you will enjoy my tracks for a month and then you can throw me away".

Deadlands opens with an intro in whose veins you can sense something of the album, and which immediately gives way to the robustness of Necropol Lit. From here on, we witness a masterful performance by the singer, tough as a man when needed, skillful enchantress and siren when the gothic duel's finesse is required. The sound is truly massive, enhanced by a steel production that cares about nothing but delivering power to each band member. The guitar with a very dirty sound allows the whole track to revolve around a riff styled after the last Sepultura with Cavalera/Soulfly. At least that's what I hear. Truly a phenomenal debut.

We continue with another noteworthy track: Omnivore. This can be the reference example where you hear a riffing capable of dragging the other instruments back in the style of Voivod's The Outer Limits. This song still continues to whirl towards more epic parts developing a great centripetal force to which corresponds an equal and opposite centrifugal one that leads the song to the goth tracks to then explode in a subsequent Voivodian chorus.

You could tell me I'm getting the references wrong (though I don't think so) but already realize how difficult but absolutely fascinating this album is, decorated with beautiful screaming parts as a background. Let's move on.

Rust Cleansing deserves, deserves, deserves but it's fair to recognize it owes something to Korn. A beautiful riff that, for this genre, I would define as refined, takes us to the singer's sweet voice that cuddles us with a beautiful acoustic melody that then transitions into a well-pumped chorus. Returning to Lacuna Coil, it must be said that our own band in the last album took much from this piece, without however managing to replicate its beauty. Madder Mortem definitely has the ability to shift into sixth gear. Also in the claustrophobic solos that magically appear when instead one might go clean. There's a nice underlying sadness effect in this track, latent, but that knows when to beautifully emerge.

Faceless. How to start a decidedly nu metal track with absolutely gothic singing. Slightly crazy little guitars pave the way for distortion accompanied by the piano and then into a heavy track that in riffing also has something to do with System Of A Down. It's incredible, truly incredible how such an original fusion is possible. It's absolutely remarkable the prowess of our band on their instruments, it's astounding the ability with which each track changes face within itself.

Distance Will Save Us opens like a Bauhaus-oriented track that has something strongly progressive in its DNA. Indeed, within a few seconds, we find ourselves dealing with a truly beautiful piece of progressive gothic rock/metal. I remain still amazed, captivated but jubilant. I have found an album I will never tire of.

The schizophrenic spiral that involves this masterpiece (and I'm not afraid to call it that) engulfs even Silverspine, which is probably the first track that allows us to seemingly catch our breath until a subtle, refined, and very precious work on the guitars takes us into a psychedelic dimension and a notably powerful chorus rich in links to the Voivod sound mentioned earlier. In summary, this still remains excellent rock/metal (I apologize for this continuous pairing of the two genres but I can't help it, listen to believe) of dark psychedelic origin.

Jigsaw. At this point, did you want the lullaby? Here it is served to you, almost like a fairy tale with evil witches singing at your bedside before poisoning you. And then magic, a Doro Pesch-shaped singing on a very heavy metal track in a modern key. These guys are great. Though remaining difficult to listen to, they deliver emotion upon emotion.

It's the turn of the title track Deadlands. A track that almost speaks to us in ambient terms at the beginning with a nice drum tempo and a low and delicate singing, while the guitar ventures into new goth/experimental territories playing with keyboards. Here too the instruments wrap around seeking and then rejecting each other to create a progressive elastic effect very enjoyable since the song remains not very powerful, showing other qualities, including again those of a monumental vocalist.

Resonatine is the epic and powerful closure of an album that deserves more than five stars, at least to me. It is the demonstration that this is a great album, played by technically very prepared people, a bit cold overall, but that's precisely the greatness of a work like this in which I ultimately managed to find more references put together than ever, without any of them being off-putting. As stated at the beginning, this album has the prevalent characteristic of being made of granite, so it is compact and exhilarating. I highly recommend it to all lovers of good music and to those who seek something more from metal, something diverging from the usual overused routine.

Today there are bands that I think have decomposed and taken something from this band to then create single personalities, see current Lacuna Coil, but also Benedictum for the voice especially and Otep. And there will be many, many more.

Open the doors for Madder Mortem to pass!