Mordicus
Dances From Left

Despite their history being similar to that of their compatriot groups, Mordicus are a white fly, or a black sheep if you prefer, within the Finnish death metal scene; this is certainly demonstrated by their only album "Dances From Left," released in 1993 after the usual series of demos and EPs.

Why a white fly? Simple, their style has nothing in common with other bands from the land of a thousand lakes, and to be honest, not even with those from neighboring Sweden. The compositions are characterized by strong thrash metal influences, the track structures are almost always linear and adhere to the song form, lacking the hypnotic and at the same time suffocating melodies that are the strength of Finnish death. Moreover, the production is not the best, as the sound is very stiff and almost robotic, and it does not create that atmosphere that distinguishes Nordic bands and has always set them apart from those overseas. Some interesting ideas are present, but unfortunately, they drown in a sea of dull and repetitive riffs, making it tedious and challenging to listen to the album in its entirety. The only songs that stand out, in my opinion, are "Blood Under Ice," which is rather epic in its way, and the final and very Slayer-like "Christicide," which due to its brevity is not penalized like the other tracks. It's a bit too little for an album lasting forty-five minutes that never manages to take off.

Despite everything, one can say that the album is still quite original, but in my opinion, it doesn't leave a mark, and perhaps it's no coincidence that Mordicus were unable to follow up on their work, also due to problems with record labels, before disbanding at the end of the last century.