Krisiun – "Mortem Solis"

Death metal album of the year?

Brazil's Krisiun is one of those sadly few bands in any genre that, according to many (myself included), has never released a bad album. I haven't heard all of their releases, but even their less-than-great outputs – say, 2001's "Ageless Venomous" – have still at least been decent.

Maybe it's the fact that I haven't heard many of their later records, but in any case, "Mortem Solis" has really caught me off guard here.

I'm used to a definite, simple "one-track" punk rock mentality in Krisiun's songwriting – which is in no way bad, considering how both the band and I are way into Motörhead. (I mean, who isn't??) But we're not many seconds into opener "Sworn Enemies" before I realize that something way different is going on here.

The deep, thundering bass, the merciless drumming, and, above all, the uncompromising brutality are still constant. But the structures are much more complex than anything I've ever heard the band do, and especially drummer Max Kolesne leaves me breathless with almost constant fills and details worthy of the entire genre's A-level players.

I've always considered Krisiun a bit overlooked, seeing as how they've never compromised and that they're so technically brilliant musicians, even in a technically demanding genre.

Even with the brutal intensity being constant, the songs, and even the riffs, are still evolving and gaining new territory within themselves, taking themselves to their own inhumanly frantic conclusions. But the most noticable variations don't show up until around midway, with the sick "Necronomical" starting off in a classic rock beat that would normally see any crowd going "Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!", had it not been for that ominous, howling lead guitar, not unlike that of one Trey Azagthoth.

In the same way, "Tomb of the Nameless" is based on, as far as I can hear, an interchanging 5/4 and 6/4 period. Indeed, some of the songs here are playing around in that wicked area of progressivity that death metal bands can still reach without actually being progressive. And for someone who's used to a Krisiun going with 3 parts per track, this is a wonderful way of being caught off guard.

I've used the word "constant" a couple of times here, and this is the band's trademark, if any. Everything is very constant here. But if you're one of those listeners who's able to sustain attention during 40 minutes of ear-ripping aggression, those aforementioned variations in the song's structures and riffs make for an album that's still constantly challenging and surprising.

Even with the brutal intensity being constant, the songs, and even the riffs, are still evolving and gaining new territory within themselves, taking themselves to their own inhumanly frantic conclusions.

And even the album itself keeps on evolving a bit, with the ending "Worm God" and maybe especially "War Blood Hammer" being some of the fastest and most brutal tracks. Oh, and by the way, let's all take a moment here to acknowledge not only how awesome of a title "War Blood Hammer" is, but also the fact that the music actually lives up to the title.

Krisiun kick ass, man. I've always considered them a bit overlooked, seeing as how they've never compromised and that they're so technically brilliant musicians, even in a technically demanding genre. And sure, if you're not digging deep into an album like this on a detailed level, it can be hard, if not impossible, to hear a lot of variation. Any downright hooks, you won't find here, either. But just like with Motörhead, when a band is this awesome at what they do, you don't need a whole lot of variation anyway.

I might compare "Mortem Solis" to "Conquerors of Armageddon" (2000) since that's been my favorite Krisiun album so far. But this one might just have taken its place.

Rating: 5 out of 6

Genre: Death fuckin' metal, straight up
Release date: 29/7/2022
Label: Century Media
Producer: Krisiun + Hugo Silva