Morgue - Close To Complete Darkness
France’s duo Morgue are back after a few years and sound better than before. “Close To Complete Darkness” is a thicker, more lumbering beast as the band shifts a bit more away from their Grincore roots and more towards Death Metal, but it still sounds heavy like their last effort just reined in a bit. Still touching on the Hideous Divinity and Immolation influences but also touching more on Benighted than Napalm Death, fans should expect this effort to be nasty and more straightforward with still plenty of melody and groove to boot so it comes off as more than an average listen. Still helmed by the duo M Lobier on guitars, drums, and vocals and J. Blandino on bass, as the album art suggests, “Close…” is another dive into madness for Morgue. It might be slightly more polished than what some are expecting, but still has a raw tone overall without sounding too Witch Vomit laden or too clean like Horrendous.
Morgue have been known to be a bit raucous in their earlier days, but have gotten tighter and more restrained (in a good way) as albums have come along. Focusing more on atmosphere and melody rather than sheer crushing power like some of their compatriots like Internal Bleeding, the most crushing part of the music is the vocals and drums. The guitars and bass deliver some ferocity as well, but it is the solos that will really stand to attention and also signal that Morgue is slowing down somewhat. Rather than be the next fast Napalm Death, tracks like the opening ‘Upon the Altar’ build itself up for a bit before unleashing the heavier side, but even with all the distorted blastbeats and cavernous Immolation style vocals, the solos bring for much darker melodies and groove that opt for a bit of a slower side of the band like that of Incantation (though not quite as Doom driven). Other tracks like ‘Blemish’ are more rooted in the older Morgue style with a bit more Grindcore touches, but as the album progresses on it is clear the band is opting for more of a Death Metal side of things, even if they are losing a bit of the technical touches that their last album might have shown.
It is the groove that really will attract new listeners and keep old ones. ‘Sacrifical Blood’ has an infectious stomp to it and the title track has a buzzing solo that will stick with the head for days. The best example of Morgue’s progression is ‘Death in Communion’ which has a very grim, somber tone to it and much slower pacing with the drums, letting the guitars and vocals take the driver seat. More Phobophilic than Cannibal Corpse, this track oozes along with plenty of Old School Death Metal touches and an outro that hangs on a bit too long before segmenting into the final ‘Speculative Fall…’ which sounds like a Behemoth track with the way the guitar solo sounds almost like a horn section and has some excellent groove to it. Another example of how the band going at a mid to slow pace delivers more compared to some of the faster efforts. Overall, “Close To Complete Darkness” is another shift for Morgue in the right direction with a bit more difference in sound compared to previous efforts and features a collection of stomping tracks that don’t overwhelm but still have a bit of tasteful chaotic nature to them in Morgue’s own style. Each track has a solo to distinguish it from another, so those who like their mix of Grindcore laden Death Metal that is like Rotten Sound might be disappointed it isn’t fast enough, but those who like Death Metal tempered and still ferocious will really enjoy what Morgue has to offer as it again takes a step up above the norm of the more commercialized bands out there like Cannibal Corpse or Morbid Angel.
4 / 5 STARS