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Saturday 27 July 2019

Neomortoria - Death Portraits


Neomortoria – Death Portraits. Self Released – Bandcamp – 2019.

Tracklist:

     1.    Death Portraits.
     2.    Rituals.
     3.    Confessions.
     4.    The Mirror.
     5.    The Cannibal.
     6.    The Body.
     7.    Body Collapse.


Neomortoria is the new half Italian/half English Death Industrial/Power Electronics project of Martyn Reid (Depletion) and Cristian Usai (Suture). Death Portraits is their debut album, presently free to download off their Bandcamp and it’s been released today.

I’m taken in straight away by the huge pulsating drones of the Synths coupled with a higher synth frequency that haunts the narrative that plays out, like a voice from the edge. Each track that has vocals that function like a report. What I call 'Death Synths' radiate and infect the disturbed vocal, this is then coupled with distortion that corrodes the track, breaking it up. I like the use of creepy atmospherics that occur throughout the album; the huge resonating drones, build impressive instrumental passages. Samples work in the place of coherent vocals, moaning sounds dance around samples, sharper noise and drones form a whole unit that shifts and moves as if circulating and eventually strangling itself out.  Tracks such as The Cannibal incorporate guitar, taking an equally haunted yet different approach, the vocal here is more inhuman than before. Some tracks really drag as if to become torturous, intensifying and making for a more effective experience. Lyrics are short and frequently repeated for effect.

Overall, I am impressed by this horrible recording, I feel it has a deliberate Italian feel to it and that sets a certain mood. Death Portraits consistently ensures each track is stripped back to economically use only the right sounds for each track, accurately setting the mood of each piece to make for a more convincing listening experience. This is a very strong beginning that is worthy of a physical release of which I’d gladly buy.

Choppy Noodles 2019.

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