Morbus Chron – Sleepers In The Rift

This is not some lackluster throwback death metal band joining the throngs of the old school revival. This is Morbus Chron! Armed with nothing but their Nihilist record collection and an insatiable hunger for true metal, Morbus Chron traverse those thrash and death sounds to bring you their debut full length. Produced by ex-Entombed man Nicke Andersson and incredible art from Raul Gonzales, Sleepers in the Rift is an onslaught in riff-laden, binary, head rocking rhythms, cymbal splashes, tempo changes, insane melodies, tongue in cheek humour and top tier death metal.

If you were expecting another Teitanblood/Cruciamentum clone, look (at that artwork) again. What we have here is old school death metal of the highest order. A dizzying mix of tempo changes propel a riff count unheard of in modern day death metal through a chasm of appealing harmonies and tracks that progress free from the tyranny of overused ideas. Try not to bang your head to the refreshing leads on ‘The Hallucinating Dead’ which eventually swirls into a maelstrom of guitar and psychedelic effects before collapsing into the battering ram of ‘Ways of Torture’.

Morbus Chron’s sound is hard to pinpoint. One second they’re jamming out blasts to the past, summoning melodies of the early Swedish scene, the next a violent foray into the history books of the Floridian scene. Before you know it they’ve morphed into uniquely their own thing: an empowered amalgamation of melody and aggression set against humour and a passion for their musical heritage. Every single track has an intense array of highlights: from the chorus/flange effect ending of ‘Dead Body Pile Necrophile’ to the the old school, joint lead assault of ‘Lidless Coffin’.

So what is this? A genuine, fun to listen to piece of aggressive death metal from Swedish youngsters? As hard as that is to accept, yes. Finally, a death metal album with the technicality and scope of ideas to keep me interested, that is not bought down by a burdening sense of self-importance. THE VITALITY OF DEATH METAL – RETURNING! Seriously, do yourself a favour and check out the video below before ordering yourself a copy from Pulverised’s Big Cartel.