Mondocane - Gloria

MONDOCANE - Gloria (FALLEN TEMPLE - CD 2022)

Last year I had a pleasure of hearing "Dvala" by Mondocane and as I expressed in the review, it was a fantastic album. I am very glad then that Gorm (the man behind Modnocane) didn't let us forget about his project and quickly ejaculated "Gloria", a second album. And again, my feeling for his music is super positive. Maybe even better than I expected. But damn, "Gloria” is such a great album, so I am not gonna complain. First thing you need to know here it that it's rather easily-listenable black metal. While the music certainly keeps the dark, cold atmosphere of the Scandinavian BM style, somehow it sounds insanely memorable and catchy. Riffs are often quite mesmerizing, whether the music is fast or slow, it puts in sort of trance-like state. There's a lot of aggression and viciousness like in "Hydra" for instance, but at the same music can be melodic and almost sorrowful, speaking of the atmosphere. Generally, Mondocane sounds grim, cold and monumental, but the balance between all the styles of playing and ideas Gorm incorporated is perfectly balanced, resulting in an album, which is dynamic and interesting all the way through. 

Yeah, definitely variety is a strong aspect of "Gloria". It starts with a fast, aggressive "Rats of Nimh", sort of 90’s black metal monument. Then "Via Dolorosa" brings some of the most amazing tunes off the whole album, it especially catches attention with some clean vocals, making an unforgettable and simply wonderful music. As third comes a song titled "Demons", which turns out to be some sort of variation of "Personal Jesus", played in the black metal vein. With that sort of stuff you can be sure that Mondocane is not your typical black metal band and also it will never sound dull. Sure, Mondocane do remind me some other bands. With all these dry vocals alike to Sanrabb from Gehenna and Gard from Khold / Tulus, these three bands immediately come as a reference point for me. I may even add Satyricon here and that wouldn't be far from the truth. But Mondocane is good enough to defend itself and not be treated as a copy of bands X and Y as they managed to find its own way of expression within the black metal sound. I am really astonished and strongly recommend this album to everyone, not just black metal listeners. 

Verdict: 85/100