Mordax – Slaughter [EP] – 4/5
Link
It's funny how things have been falling into my lap of late. Despite not specifically looking for new music, new artists still manage to somehow grace my ears and this unsigned Danish death/thrash act have succeeded in keeping my attention. Which for Denmark – a country known for King Diamond, Lars Ulrich, the Danish pastry and little else – places them in a rather special category already. This debut self-produced EP unquestionably comes with some issues in the production department, everything kept perhaps slightly too raw for my liking, feeling instead a little 'fuzzy' and blurred as opposed to the crispness I usually prefer. It's not even consistently raw, each track jarring into a slightly different manner of viscerality.
That said, there are many early demo's of now well known artists that are highly sought after for more than just collectors items and gaining metal man-penis points but for the actual music contained, and if they continue writing material as strong as this then 'Slaughter' could very quickly find its way to that status. Get past the production and what you discover is some mid-paced thrash, deathly howls and the definite highlight in the guitars; between the epic chorus lines, gentle solo's and shredded passages, the guitars when not relegated to the occasionally monotonous chugging duties demonstrate the sort of melodic sensibilities to be expected of already well established artists.
The bottom line is that you'll not find anything particularly original in this piece; there's little that doesn't feel as though it's been done before but what this EP does is re-create that old school vibe of where the likes of Sodom and Exodus reigned supreme and follow in their footsteps two decades on. It's target audience is quite clear; if you like thrash (in particular), and like how it was done back in the day then this is one band that is more than deserving of your time.
Highlights: Buried Alive, Devoured By Life, Eyes of the Weak
NOTE: The Link is a repost from here who have received it with the bands blessing.
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