(By Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker, Lead Journalist/Writer, RiffRelevant.com)
One day before its release via Black Lion Records on July 31st, Mordenial are streaming in full for you today, their sophomore album “The Plague“.
The anxiously awaited follow-up to their 2015 début, ‘Where The Angels Fall’, finds the Swedes delivering an infectious conceptual album.
Each of the songs is thematically linked to varying concepts of “plague”, ranging from the pestilential pandemics of the distant past to possible prophetic futuristic scenarios. Then, of course, there are the terrors perpetrated by human beings in the name of god or gods.
The music of Mordenial is darkly cast and impacts the listener with a profound starkness, much like a contagion-based threat. Striking with resounding sonic heaviness, the throat-shredding vocals and timely turns toward melodic nuances are meant to obliterate perceived boundaries. This is music with persevering staying power… much like the Black Plague itself.
The Plague was recorded at Departure/Expire Studios in late 2015/early 2016. It was mixed and mastered at Garageland Studios by Ronnie Björnström.
The album will be released by Black Lion Records tomorrow (July 31st), both digitally and in a six-panel digipak CD edition. It is available now for pre-order and purchase on the Mordenial Bandcamp page at this location.
