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"Experiment in Blood" My first contact with the Russian Heavy Metal scene was with the band GRENOUER. While that project was firmly rooted in Death Metal, a fair amount of Industrial elements were utilized in supplementing the existing sound. MORRAH, on the other hand, represent the same audacity and perseverance of their Motherland while sticking to an old-school sound firmly rooted in the likes of CANNIBAL CORPSE and MALEVOLENT CREATION. Riff emphasis is the name of the game and this project is certainly capable.
Much of the praise offered must be accredited to the guitar duo of Ilya Kotelnikov and Alexander Aleksanichev. Their tone is thick and gritty with a very retro feel which properly takes advantage of the distorted chaos to inflict massive trauma to your skull as you repeatedly bang your head against the fucking stage. The mid-paced riffing avoids chugging at all costs and offers everything which the latest JUNGLE ROT album lacked; sophistication and lethality. Variety is offered through the infrequent groove-oriented passages which possess a very similar feel to early OBITUARY while maintaining that distinct MORRAH feel. The overt magnitude and quantity of riffs manage to make up for the lack of solos/lead-work and keep your attention constantly focused without having to throw you any surprises.
Does Mikhail Karavanov ring a bell? It very well should after listening to this album as you are battered for over a half hour with audible shredding bass which can be likened to the refined approach of Alex Webster (surprise, surprise). Mikhail takes full advantage of the breathing room to add depth and integrity to the release by supplementing the equally solid rhythm work of skins-man Dmitry Varlamov. Rounding out the package is vocalist Alexander Dovzhikov whose generic growl packs a bit of a punch and only suffers from the fact it is not nearly as memorable as the riffing. The one curve-ball thrown by this project is seen in “Untimely Demise” where we are hit with clean vocals which are outright bland. Far from atrocious, the vocal approach simply is lacking and detracts from stronger moments of the composition in a somewhat degenerative way. You’ll quickly forget any misgivings as “Inside My Mind” kicks into high gear from the start, featuring a completely explosive main riff which will immediately cause multiple brain contusions.
Old-school Death Metal performed with passion is always a welcome addition to the Metal community. You won’t be floored and your erectile dysfunction will not be cured, but your head will bang and your time will not be wasted. That alone says a lot when one attempts to make comparisons to the deluge of mediocrity always threatening to engulf the scene.
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