Returning from the cold Norwegian wastes, Lord Mortvm makes his presence known yet again with his second full length release Dead Christ Baptism. Returning with a fresh production style, heavier tones, and darker atmosphere, this is a triumphant return indeed. Immediately from the opening scream, wailing guitar solo, and devastatingly heavy bass, I knew I was in for a good time. For those unaware, Lord Mortvm creates a unique blend of black metal and doom metal, favoring the funeral doom style of things in this album as opposed to the more traditional style in the previous release Diabolical Omen of Hell. In fact, its a push forward and a very solid evolution this album holds I feel.
As mentioned before, right off the bat this album is a step forward in the right direction from the previous release. A more vibrant and slightly cleaner production style goes a long way with this album, as the bass and guitars simply punish the listener with how heavy they are. And in such a good way, too. The vocals are a bit cleaner, though still harsh and strained. A cross between black metal and kind of punk style. While there is still that touch of Electric Wizard influence in the style of bass and guitar writing, but there’s other influences that are more present as well. But, more importantly, they’re able to find their sound and their cross between black metal and funeral doom, which makes for a great match. For the most part, all of the instruments are played by none other than the Lord him self, save for a few guitar solos on multiple tracks. The different styles in each guitar solo can be heard, but they both stick to the theme and really dish out some truly mind melting solos.
There’s something over all groovy about this album. Perhaps its the heavy bass influence, or the old school doom metal inspired guitar solo. But I can’t help my self but to nod along to this in a hazy room filled with herbal smoke. Each track is memorable and the great use of keyboards in the interlude to create that eeire B grade horror movie style sounds to the unique and stylisitc use of audio sampling on the two last tracks is a nice nod back to the previous album that I did always find charming about it. Unlike the previous release, there isn’t one track on this that I don’t like. Each one kept me hook and the pace was just slow enough to where you weren’t falling asleep in between each riff, but the groove is there.
I gotta be honest and say I found this album kind of inspiring. As someone who plays bass him self, I’ve always been drawn to the massive sounds you can draw from the instrument, and Lord Mortvm is really doing it in a creative way that I can really enjoy. I’ve found my self following along by ear with my own. My favorite track is Dead Christ Baptism II, the transition from the harsh bass overdrive to the clean and very dark and eerie tone played over samples of Anton LaVey is such a fitting image for this album and my favorite part. I’d highly recommend this album if you’re fans of doom metal, or even black metal.