Mortification

Item: Blood World
Author: Doug Van Pelt

Blood World

(1994)

Reviewed by Doug Van Pelt

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Label Intense RecordsHeaven's Metal #48July/August 1994

death metal heavy metal thrash metal

Whooooorrrgghhh!!! Aggressive, bold, tight, fast, furious, controlled. Blood World shows Mortification at full tilt (Is there any other way?). Extreme music for extreme times.

The first thing you'll notice on this release - even before the changed vocals of Steve Rowe - is the slower classic metal approach the band takes to its music. The vocals sound great, especially in the title track, reminding me of the second Sacrament album. This song has a groove that carries over to the vocal melody in the chorus. Yes! Mortification has expanded its sound without losing a step of its power.

"Your Life" is another shining example of the band taking off into a couple real cool grooves, with a tightness that slams! Steve's vocals are gutter-rolled out of his gut with power and conviction. This song is a finger-pointer that comments straight-up about someone's death. The drums kick a la Maiden. (I know Steve "classic metal" Rowe is loving this!)

The one major exception to this new vocal direction is the grinding delivery in "Symbiosis" - but only after at least a 90-second classic metal jam intro. The next most grinding vocal performance is probably the best song - "Live By The Sword," which just attacks and attacks with biting power riffs. The band has again taken a humorous stance on a couple of its lyrics a la "Grind Planetarium." In "Monks Of The High Lord," Steve growls, "We are the order of grinding silence...Again impacting with brutal sonics." In "J.G.S.H.," he simply repeats the following lines several times: "Jesus grind Satan's head," until "his head is dead." The song "Dark Allusions" takes a bold swipe at the band's own genre, which uses gory imagery to sell.

Blood World is Mortification's most intense output of sound. Fans of death can appreciate this side by side with hardcore fans. When it kills, it kills!