The Brazilian legends of death metal are back!
With a career spanning 32+ years, Krisiun now releases their latest & 12th album “Mortem Solis”.
Featuring 11 cut-to-the-bone tracks that are some of the heaviest & furious within the band’s catalogue, “Mortem Solis” is one of Krisiun’s best albums to date.
Alex Camargo (bass/vocals), Max Kolesne (drums) and Moyses Kolesne (guitars) have been at the helm of Krisiun since its very beginning. Blood brothers creating a now cemented legacy within the death metal genre.
“Mortem Solis” is by far one of their most focused & finely tuned albums.
Bridging the technical sections with some of the most catchy riffs & punishing hooks in the band’s history.
Just by the opening notes, the band are creating something fanatic. Panic-inducing chords ring as the band comes in syncopated & bringing the thick and heavy tone Krisiun is known for.
Then quickly introduce frantically fast riffs that blend perfectly when the tempo drops down to a nice thrash-style verse section. Already you can tell the band has gone to a more simple way of thinking about songwriting. Straight to the point & unforgiving.
The follow-up “Serpent Messiah” keeps to a similar formula but what it does brilliantly is keep things simple & catchy. Krisiun might be one of the best death metal bands when it comes to technical chops but they don’t show off for the sake of it. The songwriting on this track is precise. The band have found a way to merge groove with technical riffing which is a rare occurrence.
The track also has a very tribal / Brazilian-influenced bridge section that sees the song out & I can see this being a huge song in the live setting!
As you reach the midpoint of the album tracks like “Tomb of the Nameless” yet again show you how great Krisiun are as musicians. A barrage from start to end, this track is a thumper.
Rhythmic chugging that suddenly changes into tremolo riffing & blast beats seamlessly without seeming jarring this track is a showcase of how it’s done!
The track that showcases the classic Krisiun sound is “As Angels Burn” & it’s a highlight on the album for me.
It’s rare when a band can write such a heavy & still-inspired song so late into an album. But “As Angels Burn” shows that Krisiun has a raw ungodly sound.
A mixture of their early influences like Morbid Angel & Slayer, this track is a true ripper as soon as you hit play!
The perfect crescendo to the album “Worm God” perfectly closes the album. Opening with a melodic yet brutal intro that builds up nicely before the band again switches gears to take you somewhere else just as brutal as the rest of the album.
This track has a great hint of black metal throughout which gives the album a nice little taste off all the band has to offer.
The track builds to an armageddon-like peak that is beautifully crafted to a perfect end.
At first i thought it would be hard for Krisiun to top their last effort “Scourge of the Enthroned” but within “Mortem Solis” is the most focused & driven Krisiun in a number of years & showcases a bands legacy & how far they have come & how far they are still willing to go!
Joseph Mitchell
Mortem Solis is out via Century Media on 29th July 2022
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