ZØRORMR „The Monolith”

Via Nocturna, March 2023

Music: Black Metal

Website:

https://www.facebook.com/zorormrofficial

https://zorormr.bandcamp.com/

Duration: 46:20 (8 tracks)

Country: Poland

ZØRORMR comes back with fourth full album after long eight years since last “Corpus Hermeticum” and seven years since EP “The Aftermath” which was kind of complementary to the previous full length. Moloch is the only composer as well as he recorded all vocals, guitars and bass, while Icanraz (CORRUPTION, VOIDFIRE) was the session drummer. All the guitar solos were recorded by Quazarre (ASGAARD, DEVILISH IMPRESSIONS).

The title track “The Monolith” starts the album with atmospheric intro and marching guitars which soon becomes a real track with tornado of riffs and drums. It does not last long as it slows down with a guitar solo later assisted by blast beats which makes the song more complex with interesting mood changes. It’s second part is again more pompous with slow and heavy guitars and fierce growls which create a very sinister atmosphere. Indeed, whole album is full of Moloch’s very deep and powerful vocal performances. It was a great opener which sets the tone for what it is to come.

The album has eight tracks in total and practically each of them gives us certain dose of unpredictable and interesting patents which make the songs quite intriguing. Even the fiercest tracks like “Hollow” or “Per Aspera, Ad Astra” have some unexpected twists. It may be melodic guitar solo like in the first of those or slow moments together with interesting vocal parts followed by another complex guitar solo. On the other side, there are less obvious songs like “Return To Nothingness” which stands out with outstanding atmosphere. It starts with gentle guitars which develop into slow riffs during which Moloch screams out intriguing words about our existence. There is even a chorus-like part which is attended by another great solo and after that a short fast phase is finished with pompous riffs till the end of the song. A lot of things are happening there, but the song is composed in such a way that each phase flows fluently into another one till the great finale. Finishing track “Enter The Void” is another example and it has a very sinister mood and mostly slow and heavy pace. It striding on it’s own and building a great atmosphere which is a great summary for this dark and gloomy album.

The album is definitely not monotonous, but on the contrary it surprises the listener with interesting twists here and there. There is a lot of madness and fierce energy contrasted with a lot of melodies, for example in earlier mentioned guitar solos. The songs do not have any orchestrations or other ornaments, just a few electronic pieces which slightly appear in intros to some of the songs.

As I read in the interviews, Moloch does not plan to play live shows with the band, at least not yet. It is a pity, because the music deserves to be played live. In this case, we can only enjoy the album which I recommend to black metal maniacs, but only those who expect from the music to push the boundaries farther than universal standards of this genre.

Tracklist:

1. The Monolith
2. Downward Spiral
3. Hollow
4. I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream
5. The Pentagram
6.Return To Nothingness
7. Per Aspera, Ad Astra
8. Enter The Void

Line-up:

Moloh – wokal / gitara / bas
Quazarre – solówki
Icanraz – perkusja

Rate: 8.5/10