Mordant Soul (ROI) | ‘Songs For The Search Party’

Mordant Soul have a lot of good ideas, but let themselves down just a bit too much in the execution. Right from the first track on this well produced demo, simple timing flaws undermine what they’re otherwise credilby trying to do.

Their mix of Dying Fetus, Soilent Green, Nasum and plenty more should be a decent one. But even a simple chugging 4×4 beat at the start of this demo shows serious defects in basic time keeping, and even repeats itself later.

Oddly, they do more difficult stuff better. Like the blastbeats, which are well handled and powerful.

Perhaps its a taste thing, but the vocals grate a little as well. The high pitched grind style is all well and good, but Mordant Soul just come across as a bit yappy. It’s the Millhouse effect, and sort of lacks agression that a lower or less whinging delivery would fix within this style.

Fourth track ‘Oh The Horror’ again is afflicted with sloppy guitars in its intro riff, and that’s before the drums even enter the song. It shouldn’t be rocket science, like.

It isn’t all bad though, and there are some really nice breakdowns and fills. By the ends of most songs - indeed the two mentioned in particular - they’ll generally have built toward some seriously decent riffs, ending out tracks in a definite state of improvement.

There’s a lot of rough edges in here needing fixed before they’re going anywhere further than their home county, though.

Earl Grey ::: 20/12/09