AGRUSS — Morok (review)

AGRUSS — Morok album cover Album · 2012 · Death Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
UMUR
"Morok" is the debut full-length studio album by Ukrainian death/black metal act Agruss. The album was released through code666 in April 2012. Reading the biography that came with my promo copy, it´s obvious that these six Ukrainian guys have something serious to say with their music. it´s not everyday you come across extreme metal acts with intelligent lyrical themes so allow me to elaborate a bit further. The inspiration for this first part of a planned triology, is found in the everyday lives and struggles of the six musicians. Living and having grown up in a country where ancient forests, swamps and rivers reside next door to nuclear power plants (one of which is Chernobyl which was the center of a tragic nuclear disaster in 1986), these guys are frustrated, angry and sad about the condition of our world and the greed and disregard for nature of those who rule it. The fact that Ukraine isn´t the most safe or prosperous country to live in is also extra fuel for the frustration for these guys.

...all of the above have a tremendous effect on how the music on the album sounds. There´s a desolate post-apocalyptic atmosphere to the album, which is ridden with despair and quite disturbing. The band play an extreme metal style which draws influences from both death and black metal, but the music also features some post metal traits (take a listen to the first couple of minutes of the opening track "Damnation" or the 12 minutes long closing track "Under the Snow III" for examples of that). The music features both brutal riffing and faster paced atmospheric tremolo type riffing while the vocal style alternate between high pitched screams and very brutal and completely unintelligible growls. I usually prefer my growling vocals at least somewhat intelligible, but I have to admit that the vocals on "Morok" suit the music perfectly. The sound production is raw and at times even bordering muddy, but the music and the concept only prospers from a sound that´s not too polished.

"Morok" has been a great listening experience for me. It´s not often you come across such an apocalyptic sounding extreme metal album, that´s not build on some sort of cliché theme. This is a bit deeper than your average zombie apocalypse themed death metal album or your occult apocalyptic themed black metal ditto. The combination of different music styles is effective and the unconventionally structured tracks keep the album interesting throughout. The album also features a great flow and a 4 - 4.5 star (85%) rating is fully deserved.
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