Review: KULT MOGIŁ “Torn Away the Remains of Dasein” [Pagan Records]

The young Polish death metal band Kult Mogił released their second album “Torn Away the Remains of Dasein” on the local label Pagan Records, and this time it is more focused on death metal origins without the modern touch. And they succeeded in it, it appears, that this record was released in the 90s, it fits right in with the sounding, the structure of the songs and compositional matters. But is it bad to equal on classics, with high-quality material and the personal vision?

Throughout the record of “Torn Away the Remains of Dasein” there were some changes in the line-up, their live members guitarist Rzulty and vocalist and bassist Deimon became regular members of the band. The fresh blood generally had a positive impact on the music, though the earlier releases of Kult Mogił were pretty good, but now their music is more profound and smooth. They are closer to Dutch metal scene than to local monsters such as Vader or Hate. But every song is well-considered and elaborate, the only thing, which makes this release a bit chaotic, are the strange guitar solos.

The album starts in a classical death metal manner, without introductions it overwhelms you with heaviness and speed, so after the first song it is clear enough, what kind of material awaits you from this non-compromising release. It is very fast, sometimes even insanely fast, but there is some slowing of pace as well, usually at the end of the songs with the slight mood changes (mainly created by guitar solo parts). The guitar solos really create the atmosphere of madness and chaos, making this album one step closer to experimental scene. But not to the point to drag Kult Mogił from the traditional death metal area. Sometimes the broken guitar riffs create disharmonic discord, pushing the boundaries of classical death metal, and with high-pitched, insane and fast solos, overall atmosphere of album is even more brutal and harsh. These complicated progressive guitar solos sound partly melodious, and partly they form a dissonance, especially on songs “Hunger of Pride” and “Torment of Dasein”.

Since the rhythmic structure of “Torn Away the Remains of Dasein” is very fast, the influence of thrash metal is evident, but during the decelerations, it sounds almost like doom-death metal, similar to Asphyx (especially in the end of the song “A Wax Reverie”). There’s an acoustic passage on song “White Death Implosion”, which sounds almost ritualistic, and after it slows down and returns to accustomed speed, it becomes even more aggressive and intense. The most atmospheric parts belong to intro of song “Torment of Dasein”, echoed by psychedelic guitar solos. The singer mainly growls during this record, ruthlessly and loudly (and quite clearly), his voice is full of malevolent emotions, which ideally fits in a concept of this death metal album.

Despite that band declared, that “Torn Away the Remains of Dasein” is 100% devoid of the desire to be avant-garde or experimental, it is not the strong example of pure death metal as well, which visibly highlights Kult Mogił on the extreme metal scene. This release sparkles with energetic aggressiveness and brutal temper, and the black and red symbolic graphic cover art made by Sars, echoes this fierce violence and darkness.

Release date: June 6th, 2020

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