Band:	Mors Principium Est
Album:	Dawn Of The 5th Era
Style:	Melodic death metal, Gothenburg metal
Release date:	November 19, 2014
A review by:	R'Vannith

01. Enter The Asylum
02. God Has Fallen
03. Leader Of The Titans
04. We Are The Sleep
05. Innocence Lost
06. I Am War
07. Monster In Me
08. Apricity
09. Wrath Of Indra
10. The Journey
11. The Forsaken

Staving off doubts given their frequency of line-up changes, Mors Principium Est consistently prove themselves to be a vital name in melodic death metal. Not for reasons of clear originality of style, but vital for their shared vitality, a remarkable feat considering the rate at which their rhythm guitars switch hands.

Proficiency for melody remains at an all time high, such being a crucial factor for a band that relies on the simple and direct effectiveness of supported guitar leads as their mainstay. Tight control over melodic construction is formidably consistent throughout the record, providing melodic death metal in a classic Gothenburg style, a style here represented in a manner that validates the stabilising influence of classic In Flames and Dark Tranquillity within the genre. With the former's melodic ship well and truly sunk, it's Mors Principium Est that prove to be an integral and reliable outfit in the continuity of clean-cut melodic death metal.

Symphonic elements aren't an especially original feature in the genre, though their usage in Dawn Of The 5th Era is effectively used as an enhancing element which is never overstated or prominent enough to the point of receiving distracting emphasis. The emphasis is always on the guitars, without attempts to stray outside a typical album format, as remarkably well performed and decisively written as it is. Even in the short key found reprieve of "Apricity," the guitars continue the resilient and undeterred focus that the band has clearly set for themselves, which is soon reignited with the high tempo melodic outburst in "Wrath Of Indra."

The energetic pace throughout the record is persistent and persuasive, delivering at a driving tempo and easily reaching its ends and aims without displaying, nor attempting to display, any generically resourceful components or unique flair to its frame. This is not to suggest that it lacks flair; the band's style being direct and to the point melodic death metal, in a way that's been done before, but not always in such a tightly managed effort as Dawn Of The 5th Era. Mors Principium Est leave little room for error in terms of playing melodic death metal according to precedent, resulting in a record remarkable for its consistency.

Underlying bass reverb and a strong drumming performance provide the foundations for a continually driving rhythm section, allowing the guitars to weave bolstered melody after bolstered melody with no point of stagnation or slip-up. The approach is seamless and few frills, with the production amplifying the focus on the decisive twin guitar forefront.

It's for good reason that Mors Principium Est remain a staple of the Gothenburg style, which they continue to deliver undeterred in Dawn Of The 5th Era.