Morningstvr is moving forward.
Created by multi-instrumentalist Morningstvr (vocals/all instruments), the project is already unveiling its second album, A Fate Engraved.
The first thing of paramount importance: the mix is one of the strangest and most disturbing I have ever heard. At first, I thought my speakers were malfunctioning, but it turns out that it was deliberately designed to be a mix between lo-fi Raw Black Metal and macabre Dungeon Synth, and once you get used to it… you realize that the blend works. The cold and distant instrumentals embrace the man’s eerie, ethereal screams as if they were born naturally from these layers of malevolent saturation, giving them an additional dimension of anguish while increasing the dissonance, and some tracks exploit this to perfection. Of particular note are the melodious approach of When Mountains Behold Tombs of Nine, but also the warlike tones of War Chant, a fairly short track that allows us a moment of respite before returning to the fury of the album. While the drums are perfectly capable of delivering more virulent passages, they remain fairly subdued, allowing the keyboards and vocals to guide us through their suffocating fog, where we feel constantly watched, as if prey to the musician’s riffs. The Black Forest offers us another moment of calm, but the darkness persists, returning with a touch of melancholy on Her Eyes in Winter Fog and Ride Forth, Knights of the Pale Moon, while remaining in this icy and terrifying atmosphere. Also worth mentioning are Funeral Moon, whose riffs are unfortunately completely drowned out by the wind, and Whispers of a Nameless Fear, which closes the album with waves of half-danceable, half-suffocating tones.
I am convinced that Morningstvr has a loyal fanbase, but even after several listens, I remain firm: A Fate Engraved deserves a completely different mixing to exploit its full potential. The idea is excellent, but the execution does not meet my standards.
60/100