The Key to a Black Heart
Blood Mortized
Maybe the veterans can do better where the newbies fail, or better said, still not in the right form? I beg to differ because veterans produce stuff a lot crappier than newbies sometimes so it is not a full proof fact that experience can overcome bad decision making that lead to dead end results. When it comes to the renewal of the power of old school Swedish Death Metal, not its melodic counterpart, the music and ideas remain the same. I have no doubt that there will be that one, or maybe more bands, that would be able to take on what ENTOMBED, DISGORGE, CENTINEX and DISMEMBER among others. However, everything can happen. Through F.D.A. Rekotz I came to know BLOOD MORTIZED, a band that consists of veteran members of the Swedish extreme scene, some from known and some of lesser known bands of the early 90s. Along with an old school sound production that aimed for the underworld's evil and a Deathly attitude that only folks that took part in that old era probably have for show. "The Key To A Black Heart" is the band's sophomore album. Listening to it made me contemplate on the question I asked in the beginning of the paragraph but I think that I found my answer.
"The Key to a Black Heart" begins with a chunk full of vengeance and an aggressive manner, just as a Death Metal album should be and ends with a final of a sweeping ghastly drama. Throughout the release I noticed that aside from hovering over Death Metal music, BLOOD MORTIZED also showed different aspects that were taken from Thrash Metal, merely SLAYER influences and old school melancholic Doom / Death Metal in the vein of late 80s PARADISE LOST. Let me just say that there is no shortage of grimness around "The Key to a Black Heart". Like a rotting corpse full of maggots, BLOOD MORTIZED feast on the decaying bodies of the past to unleash their own personal mayhem of violence, gore, Death and eerie earlier period musical relics' appreciations. I was rather disappointed due to the lack of solos on this release, though there were a few lead guitar melodies and a couple of interesting licks that aided on elevating a few songs such as "The Heretic Possession" and "The Key to a Black Heart". Moreover, these two songs turned out to be BLOOD MORTIZED's pride on this album, at least in my bill.
All through there is the feeling of driving force that wishes to reshape the past that influenced it. However, "The Key to a Black Heart", with its fine emergence and impressive first three numbers, didn't came to be that encouraging as it was expected it to be after such a great start. "To Murder a God" and "Doomsday Architect" are examples of songs that wouldn't have been successful even in the early 90s. Those might be raw, and simply constructed, but abusive to the ears. At least the album ended with a fine promise such as "The Key to a Black Heart" that actually led BLOOD MORTIZED out of the barren lands of the album's midway songs. So there you have it, I found my answer to my early contemplation. Experience doesn't always stick. The process can be intriguing but in the bottom line, the end result will tell the tale.
6 / 10
Had Potential
"The Key to a Black Heart" Track-listing:
1. Unleashing the Hounds
2. The Heretic Possession
3. Only Blood Can Tell
4. Dead & Rotten
5. Doomsday Architect
6. Rekviem
7. To Murder a God
8. Shadow of the Quarter Sun
9. Bringer of Eternal Death
10. The Key to a Black Heart
Blood Mortized Lineup:
Mattias Parkkila- Vocals
Anders Biazzi- Guitar
Gustav Myrin- Guitar
Mattias Söderlund- Bass
Mattias Borgh- Drums
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