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Agruss - Morok review




Bandcamp music player
Reviewer:
8.8

78 users:
8.22
Band: Agruss
Album: Morok
Release date: April 2012


01. Damnation
02. Morok
03. Punishment For All
04. Fire, The Savior From Plague
05. Ashes Of The Future
06. When The Angels Fall
07. Under The Snow I
08. Under The Snow II
09. Under The Snow III

One look at this whole set-up and it's easy to see we're in for a pretty typical black metal listen. The logo, the artwork, even the name gives you a pretty good idea what you're in for. You know what? It is pretty damn typical.

The only question is, for being such a typical album, how the hell does Morok manage to achieve such shit-blasting power?

Razor sharp guitars, blast beats, shrieks, growls, fairly lo-fi production, atmospheric intros and interludes. Yeah, this all sounds pretty familiar, right? Well, all the components are very familiar, but everything is cranked as hard as it can go. It's one thing to say a band is going to blow your speakers, Agruss on the other hand legitimately sound like they're doing damage to either your speakers, or their recording equipment. Aside from the few sparse atmospheric bits, it sounds like every inch of space is being occupied by sound here. The low end is covered with a thick, blundering death metal sound, while the high pitched black metal shrieks & eerie leads come in over the top. It's not merely just a thick, frantic wall of sound either, the song writing here is actually really memorable. There is a few moments of black metal blandness put through extremely cool production, but more often it's all about tangible riffs and moving, spooky passages.

...Yet, it still is pretty damned gritty. It's not sloppy, amateurish lo-fi type work. It sounds like the band really had a grasp of what they were doing behind the mixing boards as well. Things aren't raw merely for the sake of being raw. It's raw when it needs to be, yet has an appropriate amount of clarity to bring certain riffs to the forefront.

Black metal without avant-garde jibber-jabber, yet still fucking rules? What are you waiting around for? Listen to Morok, or go to hell.

...By the way, fuck Manowar. "When we're in town, speakers explode" Bullshit. Speakers preemptively commit suicide every time the name Agruss is even mentioned.





Written on 28.04.2012 by Former EIC. Now just a reviewer guy.


Comments page 2 / 2

Comments: 42   Visited by: 348 users
08.01.2013 - 17:43
Evil Chip

My favourite more straightforward black metal album last year.
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08.01.2013 - 19:24
Rating: 9
X-Ray Rod
Skandino
Written by Evil Chip on 08.01.2013 at 17:43

My favourite more straightforward black metal album last year.


I would say it's more death than black... Definitely an hybrid though. This is probably my favorite album of 2012.
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Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29
Like you could kiss my ass
Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
Rod, let me love you.
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09.01.2013 - 05:29
Evil Chip

Written by X-Ray Rod on 08.01.2013 at 19:24

Written by Evil Chip on 08.01.2013 at 17:43

My favourite more straightforward black metal album last year.


I would say it's more death than black... Definitely an hybrid though. This is probably my favorite album of 2012.

Yes, it has a great part of death but still I wouldn't call it blackened death metal. Anyways I was talking about the more direct and straightforward aproach in the music in general (genres-subgenres apart), which they deliver greatly.
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09.01.2013 - 08:22
Rating: 9
X-Ray Rod
Skandino
Written by Evil Chip on 09.01.2013 at 05:29
Yes, it has a great part of death but still I wouldn't call it blackened death metal.


To me it's only the production that makes it sound "bm", the riffs and most of the vocals just scream death to me.
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Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29
Like you could kiss my ass
Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
Rod, let me love you.
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09.01.2013 - 11:49
Marcel Hubregtse
Grumpy Old Fuck
Written by X-Ray Rod on 09.01.2013 at 08:22

Written by Evil Chip on 09.01.2013 at 05:29
Yes, it has a great part of death but still I wouldn't call it blackened death metal.


To me it's only the production that makes it sound "bm", the riffs and most of the vocals just scream death to me.


the riff progressions are totally black metal and not death metal. And vocals do not define a genre.
----
Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal

Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight
Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.)
05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996

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09.01.2013 - 14:13
!J.O.O.E.!
Account deleted
This is more death than black. Riff progressions don't define a genre. The actual riffs are much more important, as well as the way the drums and guitars work together. Not to mention the frequent Dragged Into Sunlight-esque moments this record has. There are a couple of atmos-black tracks on this, the rest are predominantly death metal with heavy black laden moments and aesthetics.
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09.01.2013 - 16:55
Daniell
_爱情_
Marcel says A, Joe says B, so it's time for me to chip in and say the usual, namely, screw genres

But seriously, I would never ever think about this band as death metal. from the first listen months ago till the last listen a few days back, I've always heard black metal.
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09.01.2013 - 17:34
Marcel Hubregtse
Grumpy Old Fuck
Written by Daniell on 09.01.2013 at 16:55

Marcel says A, Joe says B, so it's time for me to chip in and say the usual, namely, screw genres


And now go recoomend Rihanna to someone who likes Agruss because both make good music
----
Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal

Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight
Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.)
05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996

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09.01.2013 - 17:35
Marcel Hubregtse
Grumpy Old Fuck
Written by Daniell on 09.01.2013 at 16:55


But seriously, I would never ever think about this band as death metal. from the first listen months ago till the last listen a few days back, I've always heard black metal.


there is some death in there, but only taking a backseat
----
Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal

Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight
Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.)
05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996

Loading...
09.01.2013 - 17:35
!J.O.O.E.!
Account deleted
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 09.01.2013 at 17:34

And now go recoomend Rihanna to someone who likes Agruss because both make good music

You think Rihanna makes good music?
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09.01.2013 - 17:39
Marcel Hubregtse
Grumpy Old Fuck
Written by Guest on 09.01.2013 at 17:35

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 09.01.2013 at 17:34

And now go recoomend Rihanna to someone who likes Agruss because both make good music

You think Rihanna makes good music?


hahaha no, but I know someone who reviews for Aardschok who does and used it as an example of how ridiculous it to say that no genres are needed

I HATE all modern R&B, so also Whitney Houston, my god what torture listening to that.
----
Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal

Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight
Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.)
05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996

Loading...
28.01.2013 - 05:21
Evil Chip

After a few more listenings: I eat my words this is blackened death. There are quite atmospheric black moments but overall is death metal with a slightly drowned production sound.
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