MADDER MORTEM

If you find yourself nostalgic, lamenting the loss of the great Peter Steele, and find yourself re-engaged in the modern gothic rock and metal genre, then you'll be pleasantly surprised with Madder Mortem's latest release Old Eyes, New Heart. I came to this by way of going back through Type O and The Cure's catalogs. Interested in modern gothic rock, I discovered bands like Unto Others, 69 Eyes, and another band making a comeback from the vaults, The Mission (whose current release is also highly recommended).

Madder Mortem offers exceptionally strong and identifiable vocals from Agnete Kirkevaag. While the Tech Extreme Metal genre can sometimes be off-putting, make no doubts there are moments of variety and dynamics. Sure, there's the scant occasion of vocal fry, but the focus is usually on clean vocals, projected with great nuance, a clear communication of emotion and story. On Guard, for instance, or Cold Dark Rain, these are bluesy rock, vampiric torchlights in the brief 48 minute shadowfell. I really appreciate the length of this album, it's perfect. No filler, exactly what needs to be there without the ear and mind drain of longer albums.

The instrumentation is wholly supportive of the vocals, at times channeling the vibe of Beyond The Buried And Me or The Contortionist, but never getting too complex or losing the message. For me, the supercharged moments, both in vocals and instrumentation, could be compared to Oceans of Slumber. I hear many similarities between both bands, Madder bridging more of the Gothic sound and vibe however.

The production of the album is admirable, the engineering is top notch. Pro. Two lines down the middle. Even if this is not your style at the moment, I highly recommend the album. I never thought embracing this darkness could feel so inviting and exciting.

From the early years as Mystery Tribe to the many incarnations of MADDER MORTEM, this Oslo based band led by the indefatigable siblings Agnete Kirkevaag (vocals) and BP M. Kirkevaag (guitar) have been going strong now for well over three decades first starting out as a doom metal band but finding its true calling as a unique mix of proressive, gothic and alternative metals. After a few years of turbulent events such as the death of the Kirkevaag's father, the band has finally returned in 2024 with its eighth album OLD EYES, NEW HEART which welcomes newbie guitarist Anders Langberg who replaces Richard Wirkstrand who played on the last two albums.

Such tragedies always unleash a wellspring of emotional upheaval and it's a tried and true catharsis for musicians to channel all those unresolved unsettlements into the vehicle of their musical output and indeed MADDER MORTEM has done just that with a collection of 10 new tracks that slightly exceed the 48 minute mark. Continuing the angsty mix of the alt-goth prog metal style that the band has made their own, OLD EYES, NEW HEART channels the visions of the past into the modernity of the now. While the traditional MADDER MORTEM sounds are prevalent through the album especially on the opening "Coming From The Dark," the tracks offer a much more diverse serving of musical deliveries ranging from the most caustic and abrasive guitar intros on the extra frigid "Cold Hard Rain" to the more serene placidity of "On Guard."

The tracks excel in the art of contrast with each pulling the rug out for expectations and offering varying tempos, elements of syncopation, vocal phrasing, riffing diversity and the emphasis on either the prog, alt or goth dominance. What keeps the album fairly uniform in its overall vibe is the combo effect of Agnete's skillful vocal style as well as the grungy guitar angst in the heavier tracks. Perhaps the most overtly lyrical in reaction to the events of the past year are reflected in the slower tracks "Here And Now" and Long Road" which are almost ballads in relationship to the rest of the album with slow contemplative parts that allow Agnete to display her tender aspects in full vulnerability.

Overall another decent album from MADDER MORTEM that continues its idiosyncratic stylistic approaches only expanding its tentacles into even further realms that touch many disparate arenas. A period of great personal change and growth the band reflects this in a very strong album that forges ahead despite all the adversity. Once again the star of the show is the inimitable Agnete Kirkevaag who has one of the most unique female presences in all of metal and continues to lead her goth tinged prog alt metal into ever expanding worlds hitherto unconsidered. A triumphant return from one of Norway's most unique sounding prog metallers who forge ahead well into their third decade of existence and still defying exact pigeonholing of its style. While the ballad is a strange track to end the album on, the album for the most part is fairly dynamic and changes things up quite a bit.

All Flesh Is Grass is Madder Mortem's extraordinary sophomore record, released in 2001 via Century Media. The Norwegians' 1999 debut album Mercury had attracted lots of praise at the time it came out, and yet the band disintegrated shortly afterwards, leaving siblings Agnete (vocals) and BP Kirkevaag (guitars) alone to reconstruct the band from scratch. Enter Mads Solås (drums), Pål Mozart Bjørke (bass, keyboards) and Eirik Ulvo Langnes (guitars), and in 2000 the semi-revolutionised line-up locked themselves up in Studio Underground, Västerås, Sweden, to record the follow-up to Mercury. If the debut album had already shown the Norwegian band's subversive, unconventional streak as they stretched the rules of doom metal beyond its boundaries, All Flesh Is Grass simply blows everything out of the water.

This album occupies a special place in my collection. I cherish it and genuinely admire it as one of the most innovative, uncompromising, boundary-stretching examples of heavy metal. And yet I know that sitting through it is going to make for a raw, uncomfortable listening experience. This is because All Flesh Is Grass is a VERY demanding listen. Madder Mortem take the rulebook of extreme metal, scrap it, and then put the pieces back together in a random, chaotic order. Doom, gothic metal, nu-metal, prog metal, alternative and atmospheric rock are all mixed together to create a novel musical Frankenstein that shouldn't possibly work - and yet, in its own deranged way, it does.

This across-the-board, uncompromising approach reminds me of Solefald, albeit the latter use a rather different and more extreme sonic palette to channel their disturbed ideas into musical form. All Flesh Is Grass does not take it easy either, as far as extreme music goes. Ultra-heavy, razor-sharp guitars trace schizophrenic riffs that refuse to settle on any given pattern and instead keep mutating and morphing into something new. The drums follow a similar approach, in constant flux, mixing minimalist beats with furious, cacophonous explosions of noise. Meanwhile, Agnete's vocals oscillate between the sweet and the gruesome. One moment she uses her mellifluous soprano-range to sing gentle melodies, and the next she is bellowing her deep, low howls to the moon. Growls and shouted vocals are used too in the most jarring passages.

All Flesh is Grass deals blows with one hand and soothing caresses with the other. The bleak, disjointed guitar riffs of "Breaker of Worlds" make for a disturbing start of the album. The angular dissonances continue through the splendid "The Cluster Children" and "Ruby Red", and it is only with the short instrumental "Head on Pillow" and the gothic "Turn the War On" that we are given a fleeting moment of respite, as the atmosphere mellows and chilling melodies lull us for a brief moment, before the song explodes again in a wall of noise. These rare concessions to melody are like water in the desert and resonate the more for this reason. The album concludes with another masterpiece in atmosphere and dynamics, the sprawling "Traitor's Mark", a doomy affair that explores a vast musical universe made of noise, moody ambience and sickly melodies.

Like a car crash - painful to watch, and yet you can't look away -, All Flesh Is Grass hypnotizes and repels at the same time. It is angular, dissonant and loud. But it is also moody, melancholic and subtly melodic. It takes the listener on a musical journey that is hard to go through unscathed or to forget. While certainly not for the feeble of heart, the sheer boldness of the music that can be heard on this album makes Madder Mortem a very special and unique band in the extreme metal scene, and one that I can only highly recommend.

"Deadlands" is the 3rd full-length studio album by Norwegian metal act Madder Mortem. The album was released through Century Media Records in October 2002. It´s the successor to "All Flesh Is Grass" from 2001 and features the same quintet lineup who recorded the predecessor.

Stylistically the material on "Deadlands" is hard to put a label on. It´s female led metal, but it´s not symphonic metal or goth metal, but rather a heavy and dark type of metal with Agnete M. Kirkevaag´s distinct sounding and powerful vocals in front. She is sometimes backed by very low in the mix semi-growling vocals and often by harmony vocals too. The tracks are predominantly riff heavy, but there are more melodic and less distorted and loud tracks on the album too. Madder Mortem are often labelled progressive metal, but other than a few adventurous ideas here and there, I wouldn´t call the music on "Deadlands" particularly progressive in nature ("Distance Will Save Us" is probably the closest Madder Mortem come to playing progressive metal). This is just gloomy and really heavy music, and maybe groove heavy doom metal is a better description.

"Deadlands" is not only well performed it´s also well produced, featuring a sound production which is both powerful and detailed, and which suits the material well. Upon conclusion "Deadlands" is another solid release by Madder Mortem, which shows their relatively unique sound. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

(Originally posted on Metal Music Archives)

For almost 20 years now, the story remains the same. All critics and aware fans scream their lungs out to tell us that Madder Mortem is one of the best metal bands, in terms of quality and endurance but the majority of the metal scene turns its head the other way, towards opportunistic, trendy or even shallow bands. I have quit all hope that Madder Mortem will get the wide recognition they deserve but then again, why should this matter? Nothing of the above is powerful enough to influence the secret, ritualistic and eclectic delight they offer us with each new album.

For almost 20 years, the story remains the same. Like in their previous 6 endeavours, this year's album, Marrow, remains true to the fundamentally unchanged roots of their music, keeping a masterful balance among lyrical, dramatic and aggressive expressions. The dark tales they weave are ultimately for adult listeners: the atmospheric pursuits are being blended with doomy and prog ideas while the riffing always retains a modern character, despite the Norwegian origins that occasionally draw their music towards melancholic and dreamy soundscapes. It's a fact, Madder Mortem is still very hard to categorize and their compositions are always adventurous and open to transformation. This is music of high intensity that looks like the beast whose skin is silky and its claws ferocious. Art that resembles a beautiful mermaid rising up from a deep abyss enchanting you, only to realize that she has terrible, blood thirsty teeth.

For almost 20 years, the story remains the same. We will continue to regard Agnete Kirkevaag as one of the most, maybe The most amazing female performer in metal music and the majority will go on believing that we exaggerate. It is their right to do so. For us, it will still be a privilege to enjoy these performances and to realize that they have become even wiser and richer in Marrow, with less 'yelling' and more colour and texture. In the same time, some of the included compositions slightly reveal some folk influences, for the listener that yearns to discover things beneath the notes. In the list of all the fantastic songs they have delivered through these 20 years, we have to add many from this album, like the epic 9 minute long 'Waiting to fall', the first single 'Moonlight over silver white' and 'Until you return' ' one of the greatest songs they have ever composed, in my opinion. Just surrender yourself to its hypnotizing groove and watch it explode into an outburst of passionate heaviness.

For almost 20 years, the story remains the same. Each time they release an album, it is doomed to be included among that year's exceptional metal records. Remaining loyal to the stylistic visions they alone created 20 years ago, Madder Mortem is here again, strong and hungry as always. I don't know how success is defined but, artistically speaking, this band is one of the most successful out there. On 21/9 you will have another proof for this.

And I can do nothing more than hope that for the next 20 years the story will just remain the same.

Originally posted in Against the Silence.com

This is not an easy album to listen to. The music moves from time signature to time signature, sometimes heavy sometimes light, not always melodic. It is often harsh and uncompromising, yet t others almost ethereal. Add to it the operatic style female vocals and the result is an album that is full of challenging music.

If anyone ever felt that extreme rock was played by people who only knew how to turn up the volume and play at break neck speed then they should listen to this. It is very much a progressive album; only Genesis never sounded anything like this? It is music that transcends boundaries and consequently will only ever appeal to a select few. I enjoyed it but there had to be a break between playing, as it demands so much from the listener. A concert of theirs must be a very draining experience.

If you think you're brave enough?

Originally appeared in Feedback #62, May 01

This album is a monster. A female vocalist who sings like Grace Slick's slightly insane sister with a high priestess complex over progressive doom metal with a powerhouse production is what I call goodness in a nutshell. The guitars have an angry downtuned crunch, although the band utilizes chord progressions from all over the guitar necks to create these offerings as opposed to mindless chugging. Offbeat time signatures and tempo changes abound, and trippy mellow sections give this effort a heavy prog vibe.

There's a lot of variety in their song constructions, with no definative singular influence, thus the band retains an identity unique to themselves. You'll find some eerie southwestern folk in "Turn The War On" and a bit of The Beatle's "Tomorrow Never Knows" in "Traitor's Mark". One of the real kickers is "Ten Times Defeat", which seems influenced by King Crimson's Discipline era. It is absolutely brilliant showmanship and something I've never heard before. How many extremely heavy bands consider Discipline a piece to the puzzle of their sound? It's actually become one of my favorite songs, certainly of the heavy variety. Ruby Red is another fantastic number with the quiet / loud dynamic explored in an intense and creepy fashion.

The musicianship is tight with effective heavy riffing combined with dark melodic passages and some full on prog workouts (such as the middle break in The Cluster Children). No guitar solo exercises, but they aren't actually missed due to the interest I retain by the song structures themselves. Keyboards are very sparsely used but add atmosphere, particularly during the opening of Traitor's Mark. The vocals are bewitching and beautiful, and Agnete's lyrics should be particularly noted for avoiding female fronted group clichés and going for a much darker and reflective tone.

Released by Century Media, the album seems to be a difficult one to find these days. I'm going to assume that Century Media picked them up expecting a revamp concerning the goth metal shoegaze of the band's previous album into a more Lacuna Coil-like sound (considering that Lacuna Coil was on that label at the time), and just didn't know how to handle or promote such an unusual creation that is All Flesh Is Grass. The label reps probably weren't expecting that. It's a real shame this album isn't better known, and for that matter, the band themselves. Madder Mortem still exists(on Peaceville Records), and their later efforts are excellent as well, although the groovy bits on a couple of these efforts veer a bit towards a nu-metal sound. Not a bad thing I suppose, but I prefer the bombastic doomy approach they accomplished with this incredible beast than the rest of their catalogue, and pretty much almost anything full stop. Brilliance.

On their debut album, Mercury, Madder Mortem made a small splash into the world with an album that can best be described as "safe". But right from the thundering, rolling bass line and pounding drums to Agnete Kirkevaag veritably spitting out the second line "This is where all flesh is grass" on the opener Breaker of Worlds, its apparent that the two years between the band first and second albums, along with a complete change of line except for the Kirkvaarg siblings, has resulted in a much appreciated change to the bands music, and I'm less than 1 minute into the first track. One thing All Flesh is Grass is definitely not, is safe.

Other than the production, the first big change that easily noticable is Agnete Kirkevaags vocals. No longer does her voice float along with the music a it did with Mercury, but now she has clearly taken centre stage and clearly has no desire to give it up. She gives some real guts to her performance, belting out some lines, modulating her voice through others, whispering for a noticibly creepy affect during Ruby Red and singing in the more ethereal voice previouly used on Mercury. She's obviously learned a few tricks and they are employed to great effect giving a much more detailed and noteworthy performance, an important fact given her place as the focal point of the bands music. Lyrically Agnete keeps to the usual themes of pain, suffering, loss and insecurity but takles them with a deftness that echoes the growing maturity of the band as musicians and avoids the usual cliches of getting blatently obvious with the subject matter.

Compositionally and technically the band is much improved as well. BP Kirkevaag has written music that flows along far better than previously, utilising Pal Mozart Bjorkes bass as much for melody as rhythm now. Whereas the first album relied heavily on the guitar riffing to get everything moving, BP has completely changed his writting style, drawing far more heavily from more extreme metal styles (noticably Death Metal) and the result is songs that can be completely driven by the bass, then one or the other of the guitars all the while beeing underpinned by the dynamic drumming style of Mads Solas that holds a powerful rhythm without ever sounding ploding. I'd go so far as to say that, other than Agnete's vocals, its the bass thats been made the central instrument of the album, holding it all together whilst providing a rhythmic melody that leaves the guitars free to provide melodies and riffs around it, coming back in to the fore and joining the bass in the heavier moments when the emphasis is needed. To that end new guitarist Eirik Ulvo Lagnes proves himself a very capable player and matches Kirkevaag, creating a balanced sound. The overall result is that the band have pushed themselves into new territory and created a unique take on prog metal, heavily song oriented and rather catchy from the first listen, but with plenty going on that will call the listener back time and again to find the hidden depths.

The other great area of improvement on this album is the production. Where as it was rather muddy and indistinct on the debut, its come a long way providing a clear sound where all instruments are well mixed and audible, an important requirment for their new direction as the album wouldnt have worked half as well with the sub par production of its predecessor.

As much as I really like this album, its not a perfect record. The 50 second guitar and vocals only track doesnt really add much to the album, where as the short blast that is 4 Chambers was a good idea but I dont think they really pulled it off, particularly the slower grind undeneath the chant of "4 chambers". The final nine and a half minute epic Traiter Mark doesnt work quite as well as I would have liked either, with the second half draging on a bit too much and that the last minute is of the stated 10:35 is actually silence followed by a few seconds of lone guitar work, a practice in modern music that I completely loath. However, there's no doubt in my mind that Breaker of Worlds is one of the greatest opening tracks in all of progdem and the following three songs (To Kill and Kill Again, The Cluster Children and Ruby Red) plus Turn the War On and Ten Times Defeat, as well as most of Traiters Mark are all absolutely excellent. I regularly listen to this recording (and Madder Mortem in general) and feel that it deserves a lot more attention, so I'll give this a well deserved 4.5 stars.

The mid 1990's saw an explosian in prog bands from Norway, both of the more symphonic and metal variaties, and '99 saw Madder Mortem join their ranks with this, their debut album, Mercury. Unlike a lot of Norway's Prog Metal acts, the band keeps away from Black Metal here and instead offers up a fusion of Doom Metal, similar to the likes of Candlemass, and Goth Metal with The 3rd and the Mortal being an obvious big influence.

As you will find with many debut albums, the band seems a bit tentative here as their musical style keeps pretty close to the Doom/Goth fusion without developing that uniqe sound that will come to charecterise the bands albums. Its particualrly noticable with vocalist Agnete Kirkvaarg, who sings in a style reminiscent of that soft, calm and airy voice of the vocalist from The 3rd and the Mortal, a style that has encompassed many goth singers for quite a while now, and a far cry from the powerful, distinct and, some would say, aquired taste that her vocals will become. In short, Mercury offers little to distinguish itself from the pack, except that within its limitations its quite a well made album. The songs are driven forward by the twin riffing of BP Kirkvaarg and Christian Ruud, sometimes using the counterpoint that would become a hallmark of the band but largely relying on the strong riffs to dominate the song. Nyborg's bass and Nielson's drums work togethor to create a strong rhythm section underpinning the riffs but without ever really making their prescence felt.

The composition of the songs is pretty good, but the album lacks variation between most of its tracks, meaning that the album as a whole wont stick in the memorry to well but indavidual songs can certainly grab the attention. The biggest problem Mercury has is that the production is definitely second rate, the first few songs in particualr sound like they were recorded on the cheap. Its the kind of quality you would expect from a demo or a first time negineer getting to grips with the kit. The sound isnt terrible, the album is certainly listenable and you can hear all the instruments, but I'm left with a definite feeling of "could do better".

I'd say that last statement sums up the album perfectly, in all departments there is nothing bad, or particularly wrong, with the album but its unsatisfying in the end. Loss, Misty Sleep and Convention are my favourite tracks on here but Madder Mortem went on to much bigger and better things after Mercury. For fans of the bleaker end of Progressive Metal, like In the Woods... and Green Carnation, who arent out to be challenged and to those that want to complete their MM discography.

At first listen, Madder Mortem wasn't an easy band for me to describe and it hasn't gotten any easier over time. Right from the opening notes of Eight Ways, it shouldn't be hard to figure out that it's... well, hard to figure out just what kind of band Madder Mortem is. Maybe they don't really "fit" any definition. Sure, there are metal moments, but there are also portions of the album that are more like rock, some alternative, some jazzy, some folk-ish and some that I really don't quite know exactly where they are on the musical landscape. I think the only comparison I can sort of make is to Faith No More. Yes, two very different bands, but each does have a kind of approach that's their own and branch out from that, sometimes making huge leaps while doing so. That said, I think Madder Mortem is simply their own kind of band. Nothing wrong with that. Agnete Kirkevaag's vocals help keep it all together. She's not operatic, she's not a screamer (well, okay she does do a bit of that, but not to the point of shrieking), a grunter or anything we're not used to hearing from a woman. Her voice has a sort of friendly, accessible quality to it. Really, I'm kind of at a loss as how to put it, other than that she's got a good voice and knows how to put it to use. The band is more than competent, offering up some impressive bites, but I didn't hear any clear indication of just how much they're really able to unleash. Some things caught my attention, but not a whole lot stood out; just more of a general impression overall. I hate to say it, but if you're looking for something in particular in your music, you may end up a bit disappointed. Madder Mortem is one of those bands that you should try to listen to beforehand before snagging this album on impulse or because of what may have been said about it. Eight Ways is a good album, but it's not for everyone. However, if you don't mind taking a trip with a few changes of scenery, it should prove to be an enjoyable listen that grows on you over time. I found "A Different Kind Of Hell", "Get That Monster Out Of Here" and album closer "The Eighth Wave" to be the best songs out of the bunch, but there are moments in the other songs that make the album as a whole worth a listen; "Riddle Wants To Be" and "Life, Lust & Liberty" got a few more repeats than most of the remaining songs did. It's one of those kinds of albums: easy to like, harder to fall in love with. I have to admit, this was my first exposure to the band, Eight Ways being their fifth album. For what it's worth, it won't be my last.