Mortuous – Among the Lost/Mors Immortalis

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MORTUOUS is a death metal band out of San Jose, California. Originally formed in 2009, MORTUOUS would gain a huge underground following. They released their first two demos, “Mors Immortalis”, in 2010, and “Among the Lost”, in 2012. These two demos having been sold out for some time are now put into one unrelenting death metal compilation.

The compilation that MORTUOUS has released is almost the same songs, recorded in two different type of periods of the band. Even though a couple years had passed between the two demos being released, there are some crucial differences in the recording and quality of both. “External Deformities” has a really rough recording in the 2010 demo, “Mors Immortalis”. The recording in the 2012 demo version, “Among the Lost”, is leaps and bounds better. The vocals have taken a much more brutal turn as well. The bass lines are clearly chunkier, and the guitar riffing has been upgraded a great deal as well. The soloing is impressive. The quality that exists in the re-recorded tracks allow the true brutality of MORTUOUS to be appreciated. Even though you can hear how special the band would become from their older incarnations.

“The Eternal Return” still provides an impressive guitar solo, though it has clearly been upgraded in the 2012 demo. “Obscured Animation” is one of the songs that benefits the most from the re-recording. The quality seems to be the quietest of all the rest of the tracks from “Mors Immortalis”. The only thing that would have made the compilation stronger is adding another cleaner recording of “Beyond Flesh”. “Subjugation of Will” and “Among the Lost” remain the only tracks not re-recorded. They are both hard hitting death metal pummeling tracks further showing how MORTUOUS has formed their absolute brutal sound.

The best part about this collection is being able to take a trip down memory lane with MORTUOUS, to see the band they became with some years of experience behind them. The original demo of, “Mors Immortalis”, is a rough recording that offers the promise of what the band would eventually become. The compilation shows how the original songs from MORTUOUS would turn them into a storied and much talked about death metal outfit.

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