Mortify - Fragments at the Edge of Sorrow

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The South American Metal scene is really huge, and it’s something that everyone knows. But one thing that isn’t so clear to the fans throughout the world is that every country has its own features and ways in each Metal genre one can think of. In the Chile extreme Metal scene, there’s a clear influence of the Old School genres in a way that can astonish many fans. And maybe the experience of hearing to “Fragments at the Edge of Sorrow”, the second album of the quartet MORTIFY can depict it clearly.

They’re a Death Metal act in a traditional form, but some technical parts that’ll bring to the mind of the fans works as “Testimony of the Ancients”, “The Rack” and even “Leprosy” (yes, the albums of PESTILENCE, ASPHYX and DEATH), but always keeping things far from the modern ways after the 90’s. It can be said as a proto-form of Technical Death Metal, a form that is nearer of classic Death Metal. It can sound a bit dusty for some, but’s good.

Anton Contreras is the album’s producer, and took care of the recordings, mixing and mastering as well. And the sonority is really near of what was done by European Death Metal acts during the early days of the Second Wave of Death Metal, keeping things abrasive and crude, but trying to be defined to give the right feeling of what’s being played. It works, but could be better.

The idea that the songs of “Fragments at the Edge of Sorrow” are giving is that the quartet is still immature, and still needs to work in a form to make the ideas come out in a better shape. But songs as “Beneath the Emptiness” and “In the Amorphous Path” (both filled with rhythmical contrasts and many technical moments and with a very good work on bass guitar and drums), “Frayed Lunacy (Dying Sight)” (very good grunts in a similar way to Chuck Schuldiner and Patrick Mameli), “Astral Sphere from a Bleeding Soul” (fine guitars sharpening the rhythmic changes), “ Process in a Secrecies of Thoughts” (that shows the Hardcore influences of Death Metal on some hooking moments, and what great work from guitars once more) and “Contaminated Echoes” are really good and state their potential.

Maybe using a modern set of instrumental tunes and some definition would allow the quartet to improve things. But “Fragments at the Edge of Sorrow” is a good release, as MORTIFY is a good band.

Songwriting: 7
Musicianship: 8
Memorability: 7
Production: 6