Dead In Silence - Vocatus et Morbo (2020)
Mexico
Independent
Dead In Silence is a one-man project from Mexico City playing melodic black metal and "Vocatus et Morbo" is their debut album. The music is rather simplistic, consisting of sorrowful and dark melodies reminiscent of old Scandinavian black metal. The vocal style is quite unique and drenched in distortion. The drums are programmed, and while I’m not too enamored with them, I've heard worse. The songs are quite lengthy, which gives the listener enough space to get into them. The music is decently constructed, even though I found it a bit quirky at first. It may take a few listens to warm up to. There's definitely some good riffs to be heard on "Vocatus Et Morbo" and the songs are quite memorable. The band plays a different kind of black metal that puts emphasis on atmosphere and expression through riffs. There's also two covers of Von and Beherit, which I find to be two rather odd choices considering the transition in style. Nevertheless, the cover of Von's 'Devil Pig' is quite good, whereas the cover of Beherit's 'Salomon's Gate' is pretty forgettable. With the addition of the two covers and ambient track at the end, this feels very much like a compilation. For reference points, I will cite bands like (old) Burzum, Ildjarn, (old) Katatonia, etc. So if you enjoy atmospheric black metal, including the above-mentioned bands, then definitely check it out. (HT)