
Mysteriis Vox Divinia
(None Shall Defy Records)
11:38min
Haven’t we all been sitting in a dark candlelit room, with half a bottle of red wine too much in the blood, thinking of downing a bottle more and then finishing it all with the razor blade in the bathroom – all miserable and depressive, seeing no light in humanity or life, seeing no need for yet a day in misery, no need for seeing the light of day yet again? A soundtrack to such a night could be delivered by the Chilean duo ANIMUS MORTIS, a rather new force to be reckoned with. Seldom have I been this affected by 2 tracks on a 7" as by the 2 tracks on "Mysteriis Vox Divina". Blazingly cold and melodic riffing entwined in an even darker and colder atmosphere, reeking of despair and misery, a misanthropic fist in the face of humanity, a gripping evil, yet enchanting atmosphere. Intelligent songwriting mixed with an overall atmosphere that pulls the listener into a black vortex that is hard to escape. The guitar, inspired by the majestic Nordic wave of Black Metal back in the nineties blended with the overall life evading cold suicidal atmosphere practiced by German (Suicidal) Black Metal bands up through the late nineties and on. The riffing might be recognizable here and there, but it works and builds on the atmosphere, together with the subtle use of synth, that reeks of Doom and self-destruction. The aggressive drumming with laces of percussion is the perfect accompany for this soundtrack of obliteration. And to top it off we have the aggressive to self-loathing shriek from a living nightmare, a fitting and final touch to top off the atmospherically and hateful attack on the listener. To be honest, the first couple of listens to this EP didn’t speak much to me, but after listening to the EP in the dusk of night, looking up on dark drifting skies, barely lit by a weak moon and a distant horizon colored purple and red, I was taken away on a journey into a deeper place of myself, to earlier years of my life, a place in life where this recording would have worked as the perfect soundtrack – a spot that might still can be found, invoked by these 2 dark cold, yet majestic tracks, a place that no longer is harmful, but the perfect state of mind to music as ANIMUS MORTIS delivers it! More info at www.myspace.com/animusmortis and www.noneshalldefy.de
Anders Peter Jørgensen