Nothing stops Mork.
Since 2004 in Norway, Thomas Eriksen‘s project (vocals/all instruments, October Moon, Pale Kids, The Deathtrip) has been exploring Black Metal in its rawest and most Old School form. In 2023, the band announced the release of Dypet, its sixth album, on Peaceville Records.
On stage, the musician is accompanied by Alex Bruun (guitar), Rob (bass) and Daniel Minge (drums, Dauden, ex-Ragnarok)
The album starts with Indre Demoner, a cold composition which immediately reminds us of the band’s roots, either in its dissonant approach or in the raw screams creating a contrast with the heady melodies. The hazy sound gradually leads us to a softer final, then to Forfort Av Kulden, a rather quiet composition in which rocky screams slowly evolve surrounded by more cheerful sounds. The darkness still remains in this haunting track with Heavy Metal influences, just like on Svik, which also places more hypnotic elements in this desolate landscape that we imagine to be quite deserted, leaving all the space to leads flying here and there with the wind, sometimes joining some distant choruses. Coldness will come back on Et Kall Fra Dypet and its suffocating riffs paying tribute to the depths and its inhabitants with mystical, worked and rather slow sounds which perfectly fit on the heavy and regular rhythmic while allowing vocals some freedom. The track is splitted in two by an occult part before returning to its dark sounds, then Hjelvik (ex-Kvelertak, ex-Djevel) joins the musician to strengthen the Pagan tones of the aggressive Black Metal on Hoye Murer. The vocal duo is surprising but still very complementary, also offering the leads an additional diversity always anchored in this melancholic universe, followed by Bortgang and its soaring slowness. The sound remains quite slow and heady, keeping the dissonant and soothing approach with a little speeding before giving way to Avskum which goes back to more lively patterns of an Old School Black Metal. But the track will give up again to haunting sounds before coming back with this occult energy which leads us to Tilbake Til Opprinnelsen and its disturbing keyboards, allowing the track to diversify its icy roots with slightly softer heady tones.
Yet anchored in a traditional Norwegian Black Metal, Mork decided to experiment with Dypet, making it sometimes melancholic, sometimes hypnotic, sometimes almost Doom… and it works, each track has its own identity and its own dynamics.
90/100