Renitent though I am as regards the French language, I deeply respect France’s UnderGround scene, especially for the grimness of its reputation – and that goes to Death and Black Metal bands alike.
A couple of years ago, MÜTIILATION were one of the few BM bands I was really looking forward to hearing, given the aura which surrounded the band. Then I got to listen to some of the old releases (okay, some of them are classics), but not before I had heard Black Millenium (Grimly Reborn), an album I considered and still find tasteless – it disappointed me severely.
With Majestas Leprosus, the seventeenth release in MÜTIILATION’s career, MÜTIILATION did not change my opinion. Yes, I know ‘raw’ must be ‘raw’ – but that does not necessarily mean that drums must be unlistenable or that the overall sound should resemble a backyard barbecue – grimness and unlistenability not always go hand in hand. The fact remains that the songs would probably benefit from better sound, because the structure is rather appealing (although the drum machine more often than not is not in accordance with the rest of the songs).
That kind of sound was acceptable years ago, when this was novelty. And it is actually not beneficial to the band (or rather, to Meyna’ch, since MÜTIILATION is for some time a one-man band), even if it as matter of personal choice.
I would not become a die-hard MUTIILATION fan from listening to this album, but it might please extremer listeners. Still, if you give Majestas Leprosus a try, you will find out that most songs have ‘something’ that sticks, but it are only Tormenting my Nights and Destroy your Life for Satan that are worth the listen.
There are no lyrics printed on the promotional package, but the message is easily conveyed by the structure of the album. Majestas Leprosus is divided in three parts: From the Evil Vortex (featuring tracks Introducing the
Plague, Tormenting my Nights and Destroy your Life for Satan), Predominance of Belzebuth (featuring tracks Bitterness Bloodred, Majestas Leprosus and Beyond the Decay of Time) and …To the Suicidal Void (featuring The Ugliness Inside, If Those Walls could Speak and Words of Evil). An album which brings nothing as realistically “unique” as the press release would have it. Quite superficial, actually.
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Mütiilation – Bitterness Bloodred