TEARS LAID IN EARTH

This is the debut from the 3rd & the Mortal, and the band wastes no time establishing themselves as the poster-children for morbidly depressing and fashionably fatalistic goth/ folk/metal posing. Every time I hear these guys I’m reminded of the Gathering, and with a little bit of Stream of Passion thrown in, but with nowhere near the same sense of purpose or vision.

This is that dreary brand of pseudo-metal with goth trappings that seems so peculiar to Scandinavian bands of the nineties. Arjen Anthony Lucassen uses this type of sound as an accent to his ambitious Ayreon epics; Stream of Passion add the ‘passion’ part and better vocals; the Gathering can claim deeper and more varied lyrical explorations in their music; and Nightwish adds a decidedly commercial focus to their music. The Mortal have none of those advantages – they’re just pretty much moody and depressing. There is very little variation to the songs on this album, or really anything else I’ve heard from them.

There are a couple of interesting tracks, “Why So Lonely” being the most notable. At least on this one there is a sense of tempo and focus, and the feeling of a complete and cohesive thought. And “Atupoe'ma” has some appeal for the beautiful delivery of feminine Norwegian vocals which are very captivating at least. But that’s about it. The three bonus tracks are a bit more varied than the rest of the album, with the epic-length “Oceana” being the most obvious deviation. But even on that one there are lengthy sections of directionless posturing with little variation or ability to hold one’s attention. I find this a very difficult album to listen to in a single setting, as there is so little variation that it becomes tedious pretty quickly.

A couple tracks seem to be more about building some mildly associative sound around the song’s title, “Death-Hymm” and “Shaman” in particular. There may be some deep hidden meaning, but I can’t focus on either of them long enough to draw it out.

This is another case of sun-deprived, snow-bound depressing music that shouldn’t be made readily available to anyone with emotional problems. It’s probably good for stoking a miserable mood on a cold winter day, but nothing else really. I can think of better things to listen to on those kinds of days that are uplifting, and that seems like a better use of my time. Definitely for fans of the band and collectors only. Two stars.

peace