REVIEW: MJÖLNIR - WHISPERING SORCERY

 

MJÖLNIR - WHISPERING SORCERY (Cold Blood Industries, 2001):

Track List: 1- Mysterica, 2- Whispering Sorcery, 3- Times Before The Past, 4- Dragon Sword, 5- Moonlight: The Nocturnal Serenade, 6- Bloomed But Withering, 7- My Sweltering Black Eyes of Innocence, 8- Falling Into Decay, 9- A Wasted Journey

This band is a really good one...exploring the boundaries of death metal and filling them with melodies, keyboards and female vocals. It is interesting how the conception of death metal has changed through time....years ago bands like Mjölnir would have been rejected by the die hard death metal fans. But today it seems that the guys have understood that this music is brutal yet subtle, ugly yet beautiful. Check for examplethe contrast between the male and female vocals or between the faster parts (almost black metal) and the more climatic passages. One point to remark here is Linda´s drumming which is brutal and avoids getting into the cliches of the style (blast beats, double bass drumming at hyper speed). The cover of this CD can confuse you....it looks like the cover from a power metal band...but don´t be fooled this is really climatic gothic/death/black metal. Favorite tracks: "Times Before The Past", "Bloomed but Withering" and "Falling Into Decay". Contact: www.coldbloodindustries.com