Mortor
We were recently put on to Canadian based Mortor, a band formed that formed in 2008 and have worked tirelessly since to craft and refine their sound, proving doubters wrong and showing that they’re a serious force to be reckoned with. Overcoming set backs such as members leaving, the band are here now with their blistering drum work, catchy guitar hooks and thundering bass rhythms – so I thought it only right to check out their latest offering, Shoot ‘Em Up, to see what I thought of things!
As the Intro track gets things going we’re immediately thrust into a pummelling combination of rolling drums, hammering guitar lines and enough bass to shake your ribcage out of your chest. Despite this all out approach to things there’s a real sense of melody flowing through things, allowing the track to become something you can embrace and want to hear more of – and this is only the intro track! Under The Flag signals the beginning of the album properly, and once again, there’s no sign of disappointment going on here. Once again hammering onwards with a sound that will catch you off guard unless you’re fully prepared for it, this track may well get the album going for the first time but listening to it, you can’t help but feel that you’ve heard this before, almost like meeting an old friend again. Heavy, thundering and powerful, this is no holds barred metal at its best, and the sort of thing that’s going to get you reaching for that volume up button from the word go. The vocals are incredible on this track, immediately throwing down with a roar that will send shivers down your spine and leave you breathless, waiting for the next track to begin.
Eat Lead follows on, once again continuing the thundering approach of the album and not holding back for a second. Speeding things up for the initial moments of the track, this track presents us with a rolling melee of drums, guitar work and heavy bass lines, all matched by the roaring vocals but this time, incorporating a spat out style approach to really accentuate the track fully. This is metal that you can’t help but crave to see live, the power is the sort of thing which is going to get pits moving across the venue and leave audiences wanting more and more. Luckily for us, with the album there is more on offer, and title track Shoot ‘Em Up comes up next to continue the progression of things – and what a track we’re presented with. Powerful yet full of hooks from the guitars, there’s a real sense of full on metal but with an accessible edge, the sort of sound which is going to convert new fans to the band and leave old ones thoroughly satisfied at what they’ve just heard. Fast paced, rolling and packing the sort of punch you’d expect from a much bigger band, it’s easy to see why this is the title track of the record – it’s got all of the hallmarks of being an anthem in the waiting.
Clusterfuck is another serious high point on the record, presenting us with a track which is advanced, technical and all out in your face throughout, and once again suggesting that this is a band we’re going to have to see live to fully appreciate. The lyrics are once again spat at the mic, leaving the listener with no choice but to listen to what’s on offer and fully appreciate the sound of the band – I’ve yet to come across a bad track on the album. Trigger Happy, Locked And Loaded, Infidels, Whiskey Surgery and For Glory all continue the album, each track coming as another sound bite of what we can expect to hear from the guys, and showing us that metal is indeed still alive and well over in Canada. Days Of Our Knives on the other hand presents us with another track that, to me, stands out as one to make sure you check out if you get a chance. Opening with a bass heavy mix of guitars, drums and bass, the track gets off to a slowed down approach and immediately lures you in to listen harder. Moving more towards a sludgy sound and adding in a syncopated drumline, the track soon assumes the sort of thing you could well imagine marching to war to. Heavy yet accompanied by a soaring lead line, the track moves from melodic back to heavy, and back again, adopting a sound akin to Dark Tranquility yet firmly stamping their own approach onto it throughout. Layered vocals, pounding rhythms and a real sense of melody, this track has it all, and stands out as another high point for sure.
Point Blank comes up as the next track on the album, once again rolling into beginning with a hammering drum section and soaring lead line, forming a mix which is once again blisteringly heavy, yet also full of melody. Roaring through the track at break neck speed, this is a track which is going to leave venues as dust, the sort of thing which separates the true fans from the wannabes from start to finish. Rolling drums, hammering guitar lines and roaring vocals abound throughout, presenting us with a track which seems to represent the sound of the band, that all out heavy approach with a real sense of a real band behind everything rather than just a studio and a producer. The Bonesaw continues in much the same sort of way, showing that even at the penultimate track on the album there’s no holding back. Sludgy and dark, the mix adopts a slower approach designed to fully accentuate the all out power of the band, throwing down with some hardcore guitar breaks to get things going and showing that this is a band capable of turning their hand to any style they choose. Once again showing there’s a more technical side to these guys, this track paves the way towards the end of the album but doesn’t show it, still keeping things moving right up until the final moments.
Closing with Let’s Deflagrate there’s no doubt that this has been an album to check out, a band on the up, and that Canada is once again producing bands we need to get over to the UK to check out. The closing moments do what any final song should do, leaving the audience wanting more and reaching for the rewind button to go through it all over again. The closing moments are perhaps some of the more accessible once again, hammering into a Sepultura style melee of thrashy guitars and pounding drums accompanied by more of that thundering bass. It’s a cliché to say an album finishes on a high, but what we’ve got here is just that, an album which has been pretty damned incredible from start to finish, and a band we all need to be taking some notice of.
I love going into an album blind as it helps me listen to the music with an open mind, but nothing could have prepared me for Mortor and the album they’ve come up with here. Sure, it’s heavy throughout and doesn’t offer up any sort of ballad or laid back track, but does that matter? If you like heavy, and like the distorted sound of guitars crunching on bones, then this is an album that quite simply, you need to hear.
To find out more about Mortor, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Words: Dave Nicholls
As the Intro track gets things going we’re immediately thrust into a pummelling combination of rolling drums, hammering guitar lines and enough bass to shake your ribcage out of your chest. Despite this all out approach to things there’s a real sense of melody flowing through things, allowing the track to become something you can embrace and want to hear more of – and this is only the intro track! Under The Flag signals the beginning of the album properly, and once again, there’s no sign of disappointment going on here. Once again hammering onwards with a sound that will catch you off guard unless you’re fully prepared for it, this track may well get the album going for the first time but listening to it, you can’t help but feel that you’ve heard this before, almost like meeting an old friend again. Heavy, thundering and powerful, this is no holds barred metal at its best, and the sort of thing that’s going to get you reaching for that volume up button from the word go. The vocals are incredible on this track, immediately throwing down with a roar that will send shivers down your spine and leave you breathless, waiting for the next track to begin.
Eat Lead follows on, once again continuing the thundering approach of the album and not holding back for a second. Speeding things up for the initial moments of the track, this track presents us with a rolling melee of drums, guitar work and heavy bass lines, all matched by the roaring vocals but this time, incorporating a spat out style approach to really accentuate the track fully. This is metal that you can’t help but crave to see live, the power is the sort of thing which is going to get pits moving across the venue and leave audiences wanting more and more. Luckily for us, with the album there is more on offer, and title track Shoot ‘Em Up comes up next to continue the progression of things – and what a track we’re presented with. Powerful yet full of hooks from the guitars, there’s a real sense of full on metal but with an accessible edge, the sort of sound which is going to convert new fans to the band and leave old ones thoroughly satisfied at what they’ve just heard. Fast paced, rolling and packing the sort of punch you’d expect from a much bigger band, it’s easy to see why this is the title track of the record – it’s got all of the hallmarks of being an anthem in the waiting.
Clusterfuck is another serious high point on the record, presenting us with a track which is advanced, technical and all out in your face throughout, and once again suggesting that this is a band we’re going to have to see live to fully appreciate. The lyrics are once again spat at the mic, leaving the listener with no choice but to listen to what’s on offer and fully appreciate the sound of the band – I’ve yet to come across a bad track on the album. Trigger Happy, Locked And Loaded, Infidels, Whiskey Surgery and For Glory all continue the album, each track coming as another sound bite of what we can expect to hear from the guys, and showing us that metal is indeed still alive and well over in Canada. Days Of Our Knives on the other hand presents us with another track that, to me, stands out as one to make sure you check out if you get a chance. Opening with a bass heavy mix of guitars, drums and bass, the track gets off to a slowed down approach and immediately lures you in to listen harder. Moving more towards a sludgy sound and adding in a syncopated drumline, the track soon assumes the sort of thing you could well imagine marching to war to. Heavy yet accompanied by a soaring lead line, the track moves from melodic back to heavy, and back again, adopting a sound akin to Dark Tranquility yet firmly stamping their own approach onto it throughout. Layered vocals, pounding rhythms and a real sense of melody, this track has it all, and stands out as another high point for sure.
Point Blank comes up as the next track on the album, once again rolling into beginning with a hammering drum section and soaring lead line, forming a mix which is once again blisteringly heavy, yet also full of melody. Roaring through the track at break neck speed, this is a track which is going to leave venues as dust, the sort of thing which separates the true fans from the wannabes from start to finish. Rolling drums, hammering guitar lines and roaring vocals abound throughout, presenting us with a track which seems to represent the sound of the band, that all out heavy approach with a real sense of a real band behind everything rather than just a studio and a producer. The Bonesaw continues in much the same sort of way, showing that even at the penultimate track on the album there’s no holding back. Sludgy and dark, the mix adopts a slower approach designed to fully accentuate the all out power of the band, throwing down with some hardcore guitar breaks to get things going and showing that this is a band capable of turning their hand to any style they choose. Once again showing there’s a more technical side to these guys, this track paves the way towards the end of the album but doesn’t show it, still keeping things moving right up until the final moments.
Closing with Let’s Deflagrate there’s no doubt that this has been an album to check out, a band on the up, and that Canada is once again producing bands we need to get over to the UK to check out. The closing moments do what any final song should do, leaving the audience wanting more and reaching for the rewind button to go through it all over again. The closing moments are perhaps some of the more accessible once again, hammering into a Sepultura style melee of thrashy guitars and pounding drums accompanied by more of that thundering bass. It’s a cliché to say an album finishes on a high, but what we’ve got here is just that, an album which has been pretty damned incredible from start to finish, and a band we all need to be taking some notice of.
I love going into an album blind as it helps me listen to the music with an open mind, but nothing could have prepared me for Mortor and the album they’ve come up with here. Sure, it’s heavy throughout and doesn’t offer up any sort of ballad or laid back track, but does that matter? If you like heavy, and like the distorted sound of guitars crunching on bones, then this is an album that quite simply, you need to hear.
To find out more about Mortor, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Words: Dave Nicholls