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Spiritual Independence
MORTUARY DRAPE
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Release:

Iron Tyrant
14.11.2014

Info:

Although Mortuary Drape began nearly 30 years ago, the band's discography reflects the intermittent nature of its recording activity. It has been a decade since the release of Mortuary Drape's last studio recording. That album, "Buried in Time", was received with some disappointment by many Mortuary Drape fans who perceived in it a lack of the same inspiration and cultivated aesthetic sensibilities of the band's canonical output from the 1980s and 1990s. Recognizing that the last album was too great a departure from the Mortuary Drape sound, in the ten-year interim since the release of that album, vocalist and founding member, Wildness Perversion reconfigured the band’s lineup in a conscious effort to steer the band toward its roots. "I understood the direction we were going strayed too far from our beginnings", he said. The band has now returned to the proper dimension, respecting our old compositional methods and the genre we set out to play when we began".

As a result of these efforts, this new album, "Spiritual Independence", is a triumphant return to form. On this album, Mortuary Drape continues to revel in the obscure and esoteric, the opaque and the mysterious. Like so much of the greatest Italian metal, Mortuary Drape displays a penchant for atmospherics. As the Italian scene evolved, there emerged a tradition of employing melancholic, yet melodious stylistic elements to produce an aura of profound gloom. The archetypal Italian sound relied less upon aggression and violence, tending instead toward the horrific and macabre.

Much of the allure of Mortuary Drape's music derives from the manner in which the band clings to these hallmarks of Italian metal, but projects them into the context of Black Metal. Indeed, it was Mortuary Drape that ushered in the Second Wave of Black Metal in Italy. Deeply tethered to occult traditions, the passion with which Mortuary Drape creates their music is incontestable. Stories of elaborate ritual, grave desecration and morbid revelry have surrounded Mortuary Drape since the band's inception, and "Spiritual Independence" channels the same malefic forces that have guided the band's progress through the preceding decades.

With this album, Mortuary Drape reinvigorates their approach by harkening back to the sound the band achieved with its seminal recordings. The band's signature use of prominent, driving bass lines and shimmering minor key arpeggios is featured to great effect on this album. Compositionally, the riffing on "Spiritual Independence" is superb, and the band deftly transitions between sometimes wildly divergent parts, which adds greater dimension to the songs. Strategically executed guitar solos punctuate the album, and Wildness Perversion's wretched vocals and supernatural incantations intensify the ominous effect of the tracks. Thus, present are all of the essential elements of the classic Mortuary Drape sound. Likewise, the selection of visual imagery for "Spiritual Independence" is appropriate. After the phenomenal reissues of "All the Witches Dance" and "Secret Sudaria", Mortuary Drape continues its association with Iron Tyrant records thereby ensuring a proper presentation for the band's most significant release in more than ten years.

Tracklist:

01. The Hiss
02. Lithany
03. Once I Read (Marble Tomb)
04. Natural Death (1930-2011)
05. Mortal Remains (Your Bones)
06. Immutable Witness
07. Black Candle
08. Ignis Fatuus (Deaf Space)
09. 1600 Gnostic Year
10. Spiritual Independence (The Farewell)

Line-up:

Wildness Perversion: Drums & Vocals
D.C. : Lead Guitar / Backing Vocals
S.R. : Lead Guitar / Backing Vocals
S.C. : Bass / Backing Vocals

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