Lateral Constraint

Finland's Gloria Morti are capable bloodletters with five albums to their name. I most recently appraised 2016's Kuebiko and was perhaps a smidgen too harsh on it. It had fairly big shoes to fill following this album, and perhaps the extended downtime following Lateral Constraint had more to do with the band exhausting their creative reserve than lineup problems or what have you. The primary assault here is one utilizing the dichotomy evoked between black metal's calculated dissonance and eclectic flair, and sternum-cracking death metal laced with blasting undergirding and outfitted with a dystopian, penultimate vibe with Vesania-esque synths and rollicking chugs. The album certainly razes the landscape in a manner redolent of direct forebear Anthems of Annihilation, but not quite on par with 2008's Eryx.

Those satiated by bands from the Polish scene like Hate, Behemoth and the aforementioned Vesania will feel at home here. The dexterous, snappy drive of the chord progressions darts about, juking like mad amidst a sea of incessant Marduk-esque percussion and voluminous, cavernous death growls with an industrialized sheen not unlike Orion. So yeah, the Vesania comparisons are more apt than ever here, although the notation feels less Emperor-like and more standard. There are some ascending leads that stick within the cerebrum longer than others, but overall the album feels like more style over substance; but the style is definitely pretty killer. The seismic impact of the final product puts Gloria Morti on par with the better exports of the genre, like Belphegor and others.

Lateral Constraint also feels like a rather compact and focused effort, with complex and rich compositions that feel fleshed out and belie their running times. "Our God Is War" is one example, feeling much longer (in a good way) than its sub-three minute running time; a veritable shot to the arm. The lurching, obtuse chords of "Aesthetics of Self-Hyperbole" rip and tear their way through listeners, eliciting a Martian vibe replete with production as clean and airtight as the vacuum of space itself. Gloria Morti aren't a band to focus on bouncing maneuvers or other groove-infused monuments, instead locking into a cyclic chug for most of the album, bifurcated with speedily-picked leads and hooks. It's basically a roll of barbed wire in music form, so definitely tailor made for the style.

This isn't Gloria Morti's best, but it is close. The band isn't innovative or original, but the dissonant nuance is palpable, and the balance between black and death metal is expertly nailed. Eryx edges Lateral Constraint out, but I feel that this one might be the easiest album to approach for outsiders, especially those weaned on post-Behemoth blackened death metal that so clogs the airwaves nowadays. Good punishing stuff.