Mortis Mutilati are a young French project by Macabre (formerly of Skog and Decrepitude, and actually active in e.g. Septentrion, Moonreich, Charogne -which actually is another solo-outfit by him- or Gratzug amongst others), formed in 2011. After some demonstrational stuff, Mortis Mutilati signed to mighty Naturmacht Productions, which resulted in the release of a first full length, Sombre Neurasthénie, released in 2012 in a very limited edition of fifty copies only, and available on tape. Shortly after this cassette-release, Macabre started working on the sophomore full length, called Nameless Here For Evermore, released once again by Naturmacht, yet this time on CD.
For the better part Nameless Here For Evermore (did you notice that the title is in English right now?) continues the path once started with Sombre Neurasthénie, yet with a more professional production. The album lasts for forty six minutes and opens with an untitled acoustic intro. Then comes the title track, which defines the core of Mortis Mutilati’s Aural Art. It’s a form of melodic, atmospheric and funereal Black Metal with nice hypnotic tremolo riffing, great rhythmic structures (I like the drum patterns once again for their simplicity), guttural-sulphured screams, a fine dreamy solo and a doomish tempo. With the next epic, Neige De Sang (‘snow of blood’), the depressed atmosphere goes even deeper, erotically flirting on the edge of the Suicidal Black-scene; why not anyway?... Nice is the balance in between melodious parts and repetitive excerpts; unlike many colleagues, this material isn’t built on endlessly repetitive riffs (though there is nothing wrong with that, of course, at least in case of the better bands or projects dwelling around…). Some riffs repeat themselves throughout a whole piece, yet almost always this comes in a mutual agreement with simplistic but, in this case, ingenious melodies and rhythms. Also the variation in speed is little distinctive from the majority within this genre. The main tempo is rather slow, or at least balancing in between doomy and mid-tempo, but there are a couple of faster pieces too within almost each single composition. And it fits. Mortis Mutilati seem to have found the quasi-ideal combination in between the different speed-levels in order to create something that is not ‘just another’… This sub-genre within the great Atmospheric / Suicidal / Ambient / Melodic / Depressive / Autumnal / Tralala Black Metal current is pretty ‘popular’ lately, and since I am a ‘fan’ I need to say that there is more satisfying material than disappointing stuff; but this solo-project has some extras that lift them up above average.
Also the production is a surplus: rough and dense, oppressive and overpowering. A clinical approach would rape the result, and a shameless under-produced container-sounding result is insulting; in Nameless Here For Evermore’s case it’s the way it must be.