Mortuales Delecti (The Demonik Prophecies)

Haemoth for those who don’t know them is a quite old band (1998) from France that has released 6 demos, 2 split, 2 full – length albums and an EP. “Mortuales Delecti”, their most recent release, is actually a compilation containing the split “Of Aversion…” and the rare demos “Hell Grace”, “Hate”, “Demonic Prophecies” and “Hoath”.

The first tracks come from the split and their sound follows the construction and the style of the two previous albums, raw hyper – speed Black Metal with rhythmic and mid – tempo passages. The riffs in some parts are melancholic and in other are very aggressive but always with that characteristic hate which we find in the two previous albums. The production is the trademark of Haemoth: the guitars are very high as well as the drums. Unfortunately the bass can hardly be heard. They are so higher than the other instruments combined with the heavy distortion that they cause buzzing. However the buzzing didn’t annoy me so much because they give a noise – industrial sound which fits well with the hateful music. The vocals are monotonous, pretty expressive but I didn’t like that they have been filtered in studio.

The next tracks come from the band’s demos and while you listen to them you feel like you are listening to a different band. The sound here is cleaner in the mix and all the instruments are balanced although the guitar is again a little higher. The cold riffs and generally their music has a more Bathory – like/Norwegian direction. But again the feeling that the music creates to the listener is hatred. The pace is slower and there are more mid – tempo and slow – tempo tracks. The vocals are not so filtered in studio in order to match better with the more straightforward style of the tracks.

Well in this release they present us the steps by the creation of Haemoth until their latest release. I think that it’s a very good compilation for their fans who couldn’t find their older material because of the limited copies. So those who know and like Haemoth, it worth the buy. The rest of you should better listen to one of their full – length albums first.