Album Review: Morgoth - 'Ungod'

23 March 2015 | 11:10 am | Staff Writer
Originally Appeared In

Taking Morgoth back to the 90's with their classic style of death metal.

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European veterans Morgoth have established their brand based on a few core and specific musical principles. Simply, they play unforgiving death metal filled with driving riffs and classic vocals. However, the band has lay dormant. 19 years is an absolute eternity in this era of short and impatient attention spans. New album, ‘Ungod’ is an ode to their prime with some good ol' fashion death metal.

Yet another band deriving their name from Tolkien's tales of Middle Earth, Morgoth re-introduce themselves with opener, ‘House Of Blood’. Both melodic and bombarding riffs compete for attention; coupled with guttural growls things certainly start on a high note.

Despite the heavy and ferocious tone of death metal the band exudes, this album also provides a lot of harmony with tracks like ‘Voice Of Slumber’ and ‘Snakestate’, which take on a dark, evil yet harmonious tone.

That's not to say this is a timid, safe affair. The record has some hard hitting songs on it too, with moments like ‘Descent Into Hell’ picking up the pace through the agency of the guitars and powerful growls melting the eardrums. Mix this with a hammering percussion section and you have everything death metal proclaims in neat stylistic form.

Moreover, the title track has a drone to it that is layered with an ideal guitar solo before moving into a climax that puts you on the edge of your seat. The guitars are the headline here, much like the rest of the album.

Coming to a close on the track, 'The Dark Sleep,' 'Ungod' takes you on a journey that allows you to re-visit what old school death metal was all about. It's a traditional album in contemporary form.

‘Ungod’ is a welcome return for Morgoth. Contrasting elements, of fast paced, obliterating death metal mixed with a hauntingly doom metal sound, work well. While a lot of this album is quite standard death metal, the guitar techniques and heavy, head banging inducing anthems make the record shine.

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House of Blood

Voice of Slumber

Snakestate

Black Enemy

Descent into Hell

Ungod

Nemesis

God Is Evil

Traitor

Prison in Flesh

The Dark Sleep