Review of Morionor - Demo

Scouring the two filthy rows that comprise the metal section at Amoeba Music in Hollywood is like vacationing in the Indian Ocean post-tsunami; one feels stuck on a small flooded island with no proven escape. If one were given a bird’s eye view of the building one would see a large colorful mass of blues, yellows, and reds swallowing a smaller black rectangle. That black rectangle is you surrounded by four walls of metal covers emblazoned with images of rotting corpses and goat heads. Metalheads are often accused of living in the past, and in the case of black metal enthusiasts, the accusation rings true. This issue has been brought to the forefront in this review because the following review concerns a band that will, in all likelihood, remain unnoticed because a few acne-scarred cave-dwellers are still jacking off to black metal’s equivalent to vintage porn. Those willing to loosen their wooden clubs and run their flat, stringy hair through a shower or two will find some promising young black metal warriors, including the members of Morionor, a five-piece from Atlanta, Georgia, who recently released their self-titled, first full-length.

Before writing a review I like to familiarize myself with the band deemed worthy of my criticism. What I noticed first with Morionor was the age of its members. These guys look like they could easily be younger than me, and I recently turned 21. In no way is that negative criticism. On the contrary, it’s great to know that such talent and promise exists in musicians of my generation. The second and most relevant thing that I noticed was the list of influences each member gave; Children of Bodom and Dimmu Borgir finding company with Immortal and Emperor. The young mixing it up with the old? That’s outright blasphemy, and I like it.

What I like even more here is the music itself. The Brothers Besserer (Adam and Nick) work well together with Adam leading the charge and Nick playing rhythm, while Matt Zenoble graces each track with suitably melodic keyboard work. Vocalist/bassist Joey Maramoto and drummer Patrick Williams sound every bit professional, most especially Williams, who never plays outside his or each respective song’s means, meaning he could probably play faster but understands the importance of song structure.

Maramoto’s vocals don’t challenge the status-quo but do appear to have a pinch more gargle than is typical of black metal. Riffs are plenty and monstrous, ranging from the plodding style of early Mayhem to thrash breakdowns and melodic death ala another pair of brothers, the Brothers Amott, but concentrated most strongly on the fusion of each. That said, the blast beats are undeniably black metal to the bone and the group is best described as melodic black. The stand-out track of the six offered is “Cacophony in Rapture,” which opens with an outstanding solo by Adam and never lets up. To get the best idea of where Morionor should be headed in the future, do yourself a favor and listen to this track, as it will put a smile on the faces of both the cave-dwellers and the sun-friendly alike.

If there is one young American black metal band that deserves your support it is this currently unsigned and underappreciated band. Through its own effort Morionor has managed to release this album with little outside aid and that fact alone should be respected, but the additional fact that these guys actually kick a significant amount of ass should push every black metal fan to give Morionor a listen.

Release Details

Morionor

Demo

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