When you are listening to thrash metal you gotta know what you’re going for, and the vast majority of it just want it fast, loud, and good (and she said all of that). But one thing we never think of is the melody factor which is always overlooked in thrash metal, but the (to my knowledge) relatively unknown Canadian band of Mortillery know just how to get a perfect blend of melody and intensity that so many thrash fans can get around and go “this is the shit”.
Just from looking at that simply stunning cover art you get this feeling that the contents of the record are grand and unfathomably awesome, and that’d be exactly correct. “Shapeshifter” is a constant thrill of balls to the walls thrash that does not let up for even a moment, and it has one thing that in metal I can almost never get enough of when its good: vocals done by a woman. It’s something you don’t see a lot, unfortunately, in metal but there’s an elite group of women that remain mostly unnoticed and it is my firm belief that the vocalist of Mortillery belongs in that group. Her vocals shred through everything so vicious that the only thing matched by them in terms of ferocity is the rest of the band that is so relentless that you’ll never find anything of such degree outside of thrash, and “Shapeshifter” is a perfect example of that. All 50-some minutes (three bonus tracks included) of the record are kept at a break neck pace alongside the fantastic rhythms and melodies flawlessly strewn together, and then the catchiness of it all and variety spread out amongst the songs is a treat that does not stop giving. Mortillery that they know modern thrash, and know it well. “Shapeshifter” is a never ending blast of entertainment that only gets better with every single fucking listen.
This band nails everything they could’ve done magnificently well to the point where it’s hard to see where Mortillery went wrong on this album. “Shapeshifter” is a thrash album that should absolutely be checked out by any fan of the genre because you will get years of enjoyment out of the record. Just go check it out when it’s released. Fuckin’ do it.
“Shapeshifter” releases on May 27th!
PRE-ORDER “Shapeshifter” via iTunes here.
LISTEN to the track “Torture” via YouTube here or below.
LIKE Mortillery on Facebook here.
FOLLOW Mortillery on Twitter : @Mortillery
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