Mütiilation is a fairly well-known black metal band. Fronted by William "Meyhna'ch" Roussel, this band was a part of the infamous Les Légions Noires (The Black Legions) from the early to mid 1990s, and created some of the most raw black metal recordings in history. "Sorrow Galaxies" is Mütiilation's sixth full-length album, as well as the most recent, released nearly eight years ago in 2007. My encounter with this band was about five years ago in 2010, and it was with the "Vampires of Black Imperial Blood" album. I was put off at first by the pure raw production of that album, but it would prove to grow on me as my love for black metal continued to expand. This album, "Sorrow Galaxies", is definitely an interesting listen.
Musically, this differs a bit from the past Mütiilation releases, mainly in the droning length of these songs. There are four tracks on this album, and every one of them exceeds the 9 minute mark. The album's opener "Cosmic Seeds of Anger & Dementia" is the longest track, clocking in at over 12 and a half minutes. This song is probably the album's highlight in my opinion. It sets the mood for this record perfectly and contains some of the most satisfying melodic guitar riffs. The guitars are the focal point of this album and range from being furious to melancholically melodic. Take "The Coffin of Lost Innocence" for example. Like the other three, this song begins with a ferocious assault on the ears, yet soon after, transforms into a melodic abyss with beautiful yet sad guitar riffs. There are a few breaks that occur periodically that almost sound medieval in nature and really add to the atmosphere. A lot of slow and mid-paced sections exist within these songs, which help to justify their length. It would not be as satisfying to hear 9+ minutes of break-neck speed black metal. In addition to the furious tremolo riffing and melodic droning sections, there is also an influence of punk, especially in "Cesium Syndrome 86", which contains a pretty sick breakdown at around the halfway point. This album contains some of the greatest and most varied guitar work I have heard from Meyhna'ch.
The drums on this album are an interesting anomaly. They are actually played on a real drumkit, which contradicts usual works from Mütiilation. They sound much more organic on this album and contain so much more energy. The double bass in tracks like "Coffin of Lost Innocence" is absolutely punishing, yet not a distraction from the rest of the music. On previous albums, especially "Black Millenium (Grimly Reborn)", the drum machine was a major distraction for me. Thankfully that is not an issue here.
If there are any real complaints I have about "Sorrow Galaxies", it's probably the vocals. Meyhna'ch is not a bad vocalist, and on this album, he actually sounds a bit like Attila Csihar from Mayhem. The only issue I have with these vocals is at times, they sound somewhat forced. This is made worse because they often sound buried in the mix, which leaves them fighting for more air than they should. The production on this album is otherwise really good, especially for Mütiilation, but these vocals are far too quiet. The lyrics on this album are also somewhat juvenile at times and can come off as silly. For example, this excerpt taken from "The Coffin of Lost Innocence":
"What is their so called of god? that erase my friends, that destroy my dreams?
What have you done for me?
Why don't you just kill me?
You can be proud of you bitch...
One of the strings that keep me sane have been slashed once again"
These lyrics seem like they're coming from a typical bedroom DSBM band. This album actually shares some traits with the DSBM subgenre, which don't get me wrong, I love, but these lyrics definitely come off as cheesy sometimes. However, overall, the mixing of the vocals and some of these lyrics are really the only gripes I have about this album. I really hope I can get my hand on a physical copy of this disc, as well as other releases from this band. It was interesting that Mütiilation played Hellfest this year! Maybe they will release a new album in the future? One can only hope; it has, after all, been almost 8 years since this one.
Sample:
youtube.com/watch?v=4Un4w95ySpI&list=RD4Un4w95ySpI&start_radio=1
