Over 40 years of metal’s biological urge (and a hefty lack of restraint) has resulted in some incomprehensibly large catalogs. No one should have to listen to anywhere from 13 to 15 [Luca Turilli’s] Rhapsody [of Fire] albums just to get caught up for a new release. So whenever the fancy strikes us, we’re offering a selection of prime(r)(er) cuts to get you up to speed. Without further ado, welcome to…
“Do you smell that? That’s the smell of burning. Don’t worry; there’s nothing to fear. You smell it because I’m playing Mors Principium Est. And every time I play MPE, a bomb drops somewhere in the world. From the first note of 2003’s Inhumanity to the last of 2017’s Embers of Dying World, these Finns have some of the most devastating riffs out there. And to add injury to insult,1 this devastation is usually served up in back-to-back platters.2 And they’ve proved over the years that they are one of the elites of the melodeath community. Sure, 2007’s Liberation = Termination and 2017’s Embers are low points in their discog. But those low points are more impressive than even the highest points of others.
“In MPE’s case, the highest points are right in the middle of their killer catalog. Dawn of the 5th Era and …and Death Said Live have some of the most insanely executed riffs in the entire genre. Songs like “Departure” and “We Are the Sleep” being some of the more intense ever recorded by the band. Having enjoyed their stuff before …and Death Said Live, it was this album that made me a fan for life. It doesn’t matter how often I play it; I’m still headbanging from ceiling to floor to those brutal riffs. And this year’s appropriately-titled Seven has a song that’ll go punch-for-punch with some of the band’s best. But, only singer Ville Viljanen and guitarist Andy Gillion remain. On their own, will these two gentlemen keep the band’s twenty years of high standards? Or will #7 be nothing more than one great headbanger?”
– Dr. A.N. Grier
- Inhumanity, 2003
– “Another Creation”
– “Inhumanity”
– “Life in Black” - The Unborn, 20053
– “Pure”
– “Two Steps Away”
– “Altered State of Consciousness” - Liberation = Termination, 2007
– “The Animal Within”
– “Finality”
– “Sinners Defeat” - …and Death Said Live, 20124
– “Departure”
– “Destroyer of All”
– “What the Future Holds?”
– “Dead Winds of Hope” - Dawn of the 5th Era, 20145
– “God Has Fallen”
– “Leader of the Titans”
– “We Are the Sleep” - Embers of a Dying World, 2017
– “Reclaim the Sun”
– “In Torment”
– “Apprentice of Death”
Mors Principium Est’s seventh album Seven will be released on October 23rd worldwide via AFM Records.
