29 November 2023
Henry Miller gives a great commentary on growing up in his book Tropic of Capricorn. Something like this: The taste of bread will never be the same in the post-childhood period, because the anxiety of earning money to buy bread will take precedence over the taste of bread. I understand better as time goes by. Although I’m still in love with music, I remember the times in high school when I would lock myself in my room in the heat of Antalya and listen to music for 7-8 hours uninterrupted in an environment without air conditioning. When I went out, I would first grab my Walkman instead of my phone which was not in my pocket yet. While compressed music files had not yet taken over the media, the only solution was to save money and buy the original album or have it copied somewhere. Everything that is rare becomes very valuable. Every album we listened to back then left a mark on people. Things have changed, of course; our houses are now filled with music that we stream on internet, listen to once, and then forget. It becomes difficult to enjoy music, which becomes less valuable in inverse compared to its quantity, due to all kinds of problems that come with growth. I agree that the internet, which I am very familiar with because of my job, is very useful in terms of access to information, but it is sad to see that the old taste in music has been replaced by a new, less exciting one. This beautiful album by Mortifera is a work that I was not aware of due to music inflation when it was released, and I am glad that I discovered it, albeit late.
Alcest – or Neige – was one of the most prominent names who managed to change my perception of “French Black Metal = Deathspell Omega”. In fact, it can be said that he was the person who accustomed the black metal listeners, who can be considered conservative in many ways, to different moods in music. Of course I have listened to many French bands such as Mütiilation, Antaeus, Blut Aus Nord Merrimack etc and I wholeheartedly agree that the French brought a new breath to the Black Metal scene.
Mortifera was founded by Neige and Noktu in 2001 and Vastiia Tenebrd Mortifera was released in 2004. After the album, the members parted ways. Noktu is the owner of Drakkar Productions. If we examine its catalogs, we see that Drakkar has hosted many important groups. Noktu is actually Mr. ‘Mütiilation’ Meyhna’ch’s buddy and founded Drakkar after the guy encouraged him to start a company that would release Mütiilation albums. Since the members were members of Les Legions Noires (Black Legions), which is kinda equivalent of the Norwegian Inner Circle, they had difficulty finding a company to print the albums. This album is also the first album in which Neige truly demonstrated his skills as a musician.
The music in general terms – especially the intense shoegaze influence – resembles Alcest. Since I haven’t listened to Mortifera’s later works yet, I can’t comment fully, but I think Neige is the source of the shoegaze influences. Neige played the drums on the album. Vocals and guitars were shared by two members. The vocals are classic black metal shrieks. Sometimes they remind Varg or Silencer’s Nattramn. In some parts, the vocals sound like the screams of someone in pain, but there is no suicidal feeling in the music. They managed to create a poetic, melancholic atmosphere. This is largely due to the use of acoustic passages like in Alcest. The lyrics of the songs Le Revenant and Ciel Brouille belong to the famous French Poet Baudelaire. Both songs suit Baudelaire’s avant-garde and rebellious stance musically. There are 2 instrumentals in the album. The first is the opening song, Fvrahgments, and the other is Epilogue D’une Existence De Cryssthal; a wonderful acoustic work connected to Ciel Brouille. Although it is a short song, Aux Coffins Des Tenebrss is one of the best on the album. It gives goosebumps with the bird of prey sound added towards the end, when the vocals reach their peak. It is a very impressive sample use that I have rarely come across.
It is a first-class album that can be preferred to see where Alcest comes from and to meet Noktu, one of the important names of the French underground. I recommend it to lovers of melancholic heavy music.
9/10
