Mòr have waited ten years to unveil their debut album.
Formed in Normandy in 2014, the band comprising B.R. (guitar), B.S. (guitar), D.H. (bass/vocals) and N.F. (drums) signed to Les Acteurs de l’Ombre for the release of Hear The Hour Nearing!.
The Vanishing of Matter falls upon us without warning, creating a torrent of blasts and raw riffs in which the vocal parts emerge to strengthen the oppression while framing the abrasive leads. The flow continuously bubbles, only stopping to let Eden take its place with a similar approach, but the riffs seem heavier and more natural than on the previous track, while the lacerating harmonics still do their work. More airy guitars can be heard on the final, leading to the haunting Third Path, which develops a calmer, more complex sound that lets hints of melancholy nuance the ocean of wordless darkness, but the howling soon resurfaces with The Apprentice, where aggression is also reborn. The band’s sound is very different from that of the previous track, and will also differ from Cave Of Shadows, the next, where the musicians begin their lament with a calm, hypnotic guitar, followed towards the end by the second. Quietude comes to an end with the opening moments of Letter of Loss, where the mood changes drastically, plunging us into the depths of sadness with gripping riffs, broken after nearly three minutes of sorrow by a clean sound. The sizzling notes fly around us before flaring up again to envelop us before melting over us again with cries of despair, then giving way to Sulfur, which uses smoky harmonics to give hazy relief to its catchy rhythm barded with vocal eruptions. The album continues with Sutcivni los, which suddenly explodes and only allows itself a moment’s hesitation before gradually picking up again and allowing Smaragdina to blaze fiercely for the last few minutes, letting this final flashover slow down and mark the sounds’ last moments.
It’s been a long time since I’ve discovered a band as abrasive as Mòr. Hear The Hour Nearing! offers a dark, oppressive atmosphere that’s hard to grasp, but remains raw and unique.
90/100
