Mortad-The Myth Of Purity

Metal Hammer
2012


For the handful of people out there who have read more than one of my reviews (I thank all six of you greatly by the way!) you should already know that the only heavy metal magazine I consider any good at all is Metal Hammer. In fact after the year I had (don't ask) I decided to treat myself to a subscription after making sure my two kids had everything they needed. The times in life that I spoil myself can be counted on one hand folks (with several fingers left over) so signing up for Metal Hammer was a treat. Now some people only get their metal news online and for that we here at Heavy Metal Time Machine thank you. That said Metal Hammer sometimes offers some very interesting free CDs from bands you would never get a chance to hear otherwise. The February 2012 issue is one such example as I had never heard of Mortad before getting the issue in the mail. While Mortad did from all accounts release a promising EP by way of "Pandemic Paranoia" with "The Myth of Purity" (the full-length debut album from this female-fronted death/thrash metal band) the stakes are even higher as now the whole world is watching (or listening if you will). Metal Hammer is read the world over so Mortad are in the bright lights now and this debut (which was recorded in late 2011 by Russ Russell of Evile, Napalm Death and Dimmu Borgir fame) could be just the thing needed to make them into stars. The band by the way was formed in 2010 so they have obviously made a lot of headway in such a short time. Mortad's current line-up consists of Somi Arian (vocals), Jonathan Hughes (guitars), Joseph Perumal (bass) and Szymek Lawik (drums) and other than some slight black metal overtones this is death/thrash not unlike a slightly raw Arch Enemy. Although Arch Enemy certainly don't embrace all things groovy like Mortad do throughout this debut disc. Can you be groovy, heavy and full of death/thrash/black metal overtones at the same time? With Mortad the answer seems to be yes and other than the Fear Factory infused "I’m Not Interested In Being Interested" (which is rather a seriously killer track no doubt about it folks!) things follow a similar path throughout these ten tracks. Political in nature (how could it not be given the fact that lead singer and founding member Somi was raised in Iran) the album is more meaningful than your usually blood, death and gore death/thrash band down the street. While the high pitched vocals of Somi Arian (as stated a native of Iran and a presenter on Persian television) might not work for everyone I didn't find them too distracting. Moving away from the vocals for a moment and with this backing band you get quality death metal with strong guitars, crunchy bass and pounding drums. Though they might get more coverage for the fact that Somi Arian is a beautiful woman there's something interesting about the band that makes me want to follow their career. "The Myth Of Purity" isn't for everyone and quite honestly about half of the songs are really good (examples being the title track and my favorite number "Waste Of My Rage") while the other half are simply decent at best. That said with only two years under their belt the road ahead looks promising for this young band. If they can tweak the little flaws and develop more consistent quality songs then Mortad could end up a force to be reckoned with in the field of technical minded death/thrash bands.