Mulciber – Misery of One

Share this on Facebook | Share this on Twitter

From Bandcamp, “Conceived during the pandemic in 2020 under the pale grey skies of Cleveland (Ohio), MULCIBER has sought to blend different eras and subgenres of Extreme Metal into a something that stands out from the present scene.” The album has five songs. “Caught in Fire” is the first. It’s definitely Death Metal through and through. The vocals are guttural, the drums non-stop, and the riffs feature pig squeals a bit too often. Consider the short length of the song also, and how much they pack into them.

“Forsaken Lies” begins with a slower, and grinding pace. Desolate and depressing sounds abound. There is also a mandatory break down, where the slow slows to a pulverizing, crunching halt. “Benight the Light” hears the Death Metal sound continuing. Three songs in, and it’s already becoming difficult to find adjectives to describe the sound that I didn’t already use? That is how you can tell its Death Metal. There are some light Doomy elements as well, but they take a back seat. “Christ, Deceiver” is a little longer but with a similar sound. The screams are an interesting addition to the music, I mean, you don’t often hear them in Death Metal, though I am not sure what they provide further to the music. This time, however, the break down is harrowing.

“Wage of Death” closes the album; a short blast under three minutes in length.  The lead work in and after the breakdown doesn’t follow a melody line, and song underwhelms. Like an overstuffed backpack, the album features a never ending display of super-fast riffs, eve faster drumming, and dissonant, guttural vocals. However, I do not find that it stands out from the present scene. In fact, it sounds to me like thousands of other bands out there trying to do the same thing over and over again. The only real bright spot was that scary breakdown in the fourth song. I am sure they can do better than this.

Songwriting: 3
Musicianship: 7
Memorability: 2
Production: 8