Morgue - Lowest Depths of Misery

MORGUE - Lowest Depths of Misery (GODZ OV WAR - CD 2022)

It took me a while to find out which Morgue this is. You know, there are maybe twenty bands under that name in the Archives – either active and dead – but still, far too many. And I only like one Morgue – the US death metal legend, which did “Eroded Thoughts” LP some thirty years ago. When I finally recognized this Morgue, I also found out that I had one album from them (I realized that just minutes before I started writing this review). I had their “Doors of No Return” LP few years ago. I traded it for something else, because I just did not like it at all. And now I have “Lowest Depths of Misery” in my stereo. 

Hmmm, I don’t really remember anything from the previous album, since I have listened to it just few times and it was years ago. So, I will not make any attempts to compare both recordings nor I will make any more comments about “Doors of No Return” at all. As for “Lowest Depths of Misery”, well, I am afraid this album is also not my cup of beer. Sure, extreme metal it is. Sure, it has some death metal elements in the music, but I’m just more traditional kind of guy, so this sort of modern sounding death / grind / or whatever you’re gonna call it / not necessarily can speak to me. Obviously, I am far from immediately saying that it’s a garbage. It isn’t. Technically, everything here is top notch. Musicianship is outstanding. Their riffage and song structures are complex and dense, almost in the vein of such Hate Eternal or Gorguts, where the pummeling cannonade of progressive, chaotic and twisted riffs can break your teeth with its every sound. And the drumming... Damn, the drummer is just from the space. The whole music is intense and brutal, it’s fast and furious, but with a well thought arrangements that allow some space for slower, crushing parts. There's hell of a lot going on, sounds are attacking from every side, punching relentlessly and drilling in the mind of the listener. I actually do appreciate some of the stuff from “Lowest Depths...”, mostly when Morgue slows down. So, I can say that there’s some good music. I can give you “Polar Aftermath” as an example, with some almost Gojira like riffage that blows the shit. 

Buuutttt, as I mentioned, technically “Lowest Depths of Misery” is fine. It’s just not really my type of death metal I like to listen to. Maybe thing I dislike the most are screaming, shrieking vocals. They just annoy me as hell. A bit sterile production is also not my preferable. So, maybe if Morgue used more traditional death growls, then I would be able to appreciate their music more? Who knows. But it is as it is – pretty average piece of extreme metal, which I doubt will be coming back to my stereo that often. I actually prefer Corrupter and “Descent into Madness”, which Jerome and Magnus did few months earlier. “Lowest Depths...” is an album that you need to listen to few times and discover it. It isn’t an easy listen, at least it wasn’t for me. I think that my reaction to it also developed with every next spin. But I am ready to move on.

Verdict: 65/100