Morbifer
Moroi

Dracula, the Prince of Darkness, the Lord of Vampires. Poor guy, he must have driven a stake into his own heart from despair at how overused his image is in contemporary collective imagination, especially in music (and let's face it, metal in particular). "A copy of Cradle of Filth then?" No. No, don't expect "romantic" black metal in the style of "Dusk And Her Embrace"-era and certainly not resembling later offerings. No, none of that.

In this "Moroi" (2009), Morbifer - Polish, not to be confused with an Italian band of the same name from Cosenza dedicated to depressive black metal - deliver a rather raw black metal, though fuller and not "buzzing" (and thus partially more accessible to those who can't stand the classic black metal "buzz"). The album - from the information I could gather (information online is rather scarce) - is a concept about the figure of the vampire. The lyrics are completely (or almost) in Polish, but I managed to catch a "vrykolak" and a "strigoi" here and there, confirming that it's indeed about vampires, and the album title itself - "moroi" - refers to the vampire figure in Romanian folklore.

From a conceptual point of view, I can't go beyond these considerations, so let's move on to the music. As previously mentioned, here we find black metal, but it's surrounded by atmospheric, acoustic parts and occasionally some melodic tendencies emerge. The album opens with "Smierc Szkarlatna": an atmospheric part consisting of bell tolls, a martial drum, and some synths simulating wind instruments, an effective and not at all tacky introduction; finally, a black metal breaks in, halfway between raw and elaborate, neither convoluted nor too raw, striking a good balance. The screaming offered is pleasant and almost on the edge of growl. No worries then for those who can't stand various "screams" and "shouts." The piece alternates with acoustic parentheses - a characteristic of the album - which, however, do not always blend well with the rest of the composition. Transitions are often crudely done through "fade-out" and "fade-in." Apart from this, the acoustic parentheses are also pleasant. The next track "Krol W Czerni" is accompanied by some unobtrusive synths (here they help create a spectral atmosphere and are not at all overused) which contribute positively to the success of the piece. The hiss of the wind leads us to chapter number 3, the title track "Moroi," which begins with a male voice (speaking in Polish, I believe) that seems taken from some very old horror movie, which, albeit slightly, helps maintain a certain horrific atmosphere. It proves to be a good track, with the right sonic ferocity. The following "Morbiferonomicon" (an explicit reference to the Necronomicon, the mythical cursed book of H.P. Lovecraft's imagination, the Recluse of Providence) is entirely acoustic: guitar, a kind of metallic rattle, light background synths, and the hiss of the wind. The track is not bad at all, but the delay effect applied to the guitar and the "rattle" sometimes annoyed me. We are heading towards the conclusion with the next "Nie Bedziesz...," where one notices the addition of a melodic vein, so far unpublished and very pleasant, imbued with a sort of "angry melancholy"; resulting in one of the best tracks of this work. The entire album is closed by "Heksakosjoiheksekonahek" (???), possibly the composition where synths are most prominent, thus bringing the piece closer to certain symphonic black metal (but not too much). Simultaneously, it's also the track where the vocals are more violent, and even some instrumental parts are more uptight compared to other moments. In the second half, some rather evocative choral clean vocals appear.

All in all, a pleasant album, suitable for a "vampiric" break during our sunny summer days; it deserves a full pass. At the moment, I don't feel like giving it a higher rating. An album to listen to in the company of Nosferatu and his pale friends...