Rating: 7.3

Country: USA

Release Date: 2005

Record Label: Storms of Sin/Non Compos Mentis

Track list:
1. Elemental Prisms [mp3]
2. Nature of Descent
3. Drowning Pisces
4. (Tlachallel) The Arcing Obsidian
5. Antimatter Initiates
6. The Suicides of Saturn
7. Raising the Serpent

Band Website: Morbius

Morbius - Sojourns Through The Septiac

Andy Sylvester - Guitars
Matt Sylvester - Drums
Jason Weir - Bass/Vocals

The presence of a guitar/drum sibling combo is usually a guarantee of utmost tidiness in metal (Psycroptic being a recent example). Morbius is no exception, the Sylvester brothers sculpting a viscous liquid array of transitions evoking a mysterious web of shadowy yet (paradoxically) radiant classic technical death metal with blackened veins. Weir puts in a forceful performance in the shadow of the main-men monolith. The vocals range from a gurgling yet intelligible Demilich/Sinister hybrid to Dani Filth shrieks and the bass is a vital link when Andy Sylvester lets his guitar breathe during mournful and elegant doomy melodic passages.

Influences from older bands are discernable as fleeting impressions only. The lyrical concepts (reincarnation, mythology, astrology, occult) and sparse Eastern riffs are consistent with Nile's holistic approach. Celtic Frost, Kreator and Dissection aromas are present, the acoustic interlude in "Antimatter Initiates" walks over the grave of Tiamat's 'The Astral Sleep' and there is maybe an ethereal nod to forgotten US band Buried Beneath. Fundamentally though, this is unique, diverse and... well, Morbius.

In some ways the album sounds older than its 7 year age, the Sylvesters having had some difficulty in finding a label for this release. The old-fashioned but charming synth augmentations admittedly sound dated. The production is not good enough for the music to adrenalise and as such individual riffs are hard to remember even though the album works superbly as a whole. At full pelt the clarity is lost and the slick way in which the drums alter beats upon riff repeats is muted by dull percussion sonics. However, the purpose of this album is twofold. Firstly, cult collectors and diehard fans will want to grab one of the limited 1000 pressings of this disc. Secondly (and more importantly), it assists the band's desire to find label support for their 'Trismegistus' 3-tracker from 2002. This EP is allegedly a massive improvement in all areas so I definitely hope that the Sylvesters achieve this goal and more. Morbius certainly have the capability to rival Viagra for Serpent-Raising if they can find stable backing.

April 7th, 2006