Mortification - Relentless
2002/2013 Soundmass
1. Intro
2. Web of Fire
3. God Shaped Void
4. Priests of the Underground
5. Bring Release
6. Syncretize
7. The Other Side of the Coin
8. Altar of God
9. Sorrow
10. 3 of a Kind
11. Arm the Anointed
12. New York Skies
13. Apocalyptic Terror
If you're looking for one of the best albums of the post-EnVision era, this is it. The jump in quality versus what I've heard so far is amazing. This is the first album with Terrorphobia's Mick Jelinic. I thought maybe he was maybe the main songwriter here. But, nope. It's actually Steve Rowe and second guitarist Jeff Lewis. Relentless is a thrash album for the most part. It's filled with tasty, infectious riffs and a lot of attitude. "Sorrow" is a doom metal track and I'm not usually one for doom metal, but this one rocks. Again, largely due to some stellar riffing and guitar work. "Apocalyptic Terror" is full on death metal - reminding me of the old B-side "Butchered Mutilation." Steve is using his clean thrash vocals, but they're not annoying. Though I do think that if he did the whole album in growls it would be better. Also, there are a couple tracks that I could do without. "Bring Release" and "Arm the Anointed" come to mind. They're not bad but the rest of the tracks are so good these bring down the vibe a little bit. Despite my minor complaints, Relentless is just as good as stuff from the early era. I wished this quality would have continued...
Also, I can't tell if the cover art is awesome or cheesy. Both, maybe? I do like it, I can tell you that.
Useless Fact: This is the only time in the band's history to have four people (two guitar players) in the line-up.
I vacillate on "Relentless" quite a bit. One time I listen to it, and I rather enjoy it, the next time, I'm disaffected. I'm not sure if it's that it doesn't quite measure up to the previous thrash records they did, in "Bloodworld" and "Primitive Rhythm Machine" but after EnVision, Steve sort of dropped way off in terms of his ability to write good songs. He could still do it, but I always felt that the material he wrote after his cancer was never up to par with what came before. Production was always hit & miss after that, as well.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. I really feel like maybe Steve should have taken some time off and focused on his health. None of the material is as consistently good. I still feel Relentless is a notable exception and maybe also Erasing the Goblin.
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