Reviewing this “Renouncement” album by MOTIVIK is a tricky one. The band originates from Atlanta, Georgia, USA and if you try to listen to what kind of music they play you will end up classifiying it as Melodic Thrash mixed with Heavy Metal, all in a contemporary setting. They originally started their musical life as UNORTHODOX, and that name stuck from 1993 until 1998. as far as I know there are no musical products available from that era. The hiatus of them not being around lasted from 1998 until 2020, when MOTIVIK was erected. They started to bombard us with music on their 2020 debut “Death Of The Gunman”. Needless to say that I have not have the pleasure of having heard this piece of polycarbonate, as “Renouncement”, their sophomore album, is the first I have ever heard of and by MOTIVIK.

As for the music, the moniker of Melodic Thrash mixed with Heavy Metal is very fitting indeed. You know, “Renouncement” once again showcases how important it is to choose the setlist of songs very carefully when you are trying to put them in the right order for your album. And this is where MOTIVIK has gone quite wrong. I do understand why their opener is “Palace Of Ashes”, “Dethroned” and the title track, as they are amongst their heasviest and fastest song by far. But what is “Break The Walls” doing there? They should have left that one out, and followed it up with very good songs like “Septicemia” (TESTAMENT anyone?) and “Harbinger Of Demise”, as to accomplish a very decent start to “Renouncement”. Now it is just mediocre at best.

Because that is what MOTIVIK is lacking in my experience, a string of very well written, played, recorded and rfeleased songs. Some are brilliant, like “The Storm Within”, others are very good, for example “Lord Of Death” and “The Head Collector”. I now realise that the heavier and faster songs appeal to me a lot more than the others. The power ballad “Final Hour” I find is a monstrosity. The playing time of “Renouncement” is 59 minutes. If MOTIVIK had left out the lesser songs, they would have done themselves a huge favour. Don't worry, it still would have been over 40 minutes long and I could and would have classified this album as a cracker. Now it is a mediocre one. Here endeth the lesson by Professor MetalWim.