I'm Dying

Given all the existing precedence for the black metal style over the past several decades, it's fairly easy to find the right influences to develop a good sound, though taking ownership of the sound and doing something outstanding with it is another matter. Cult Ov Mora, a band that has essentially formed out of the exodus of the former vocalist of Hegeroth (another fairly young black metal act) known as Edward and utilizing several charter musicians from the same band, seems to be seeking after a relatively original niche within their adopted style. Following an LP length demo titled ...Is Coming that featured a keyboard-heavy mode of black metal with some Gothic and industrial elements (including a Burzum and a The Cure cover), they've staked a somewhat modified take on a traditional approach to the style with I'm Dying.

It's pretty hard to miss the symphonic flavoring that this song possesses given the heavy keyboard presence and the sounds utilized, pointing to an early Emperor and a middle era Satyricon influence. The same sort of driving, blast beat infused madness with a dreary atmospheric backdrop that dominated much of In The Nightside Eclipse comes pouring out from the song's very onset, and the song generally mirrors the elaborately structured and slightly classical character of "Into The Infinity Of Thoughts" as it progresses from one idea to the next. It likewise features a uniform, sepulchral and frosty groan vocal character that is all but a dead ringer for Ihsahn's mid 1990s voice persona. Between it all, a dual sense of fatalism and defiance permeates the listen, as if a dying man were shouting out a final curse at his enemies before bleeding out on the battlefield.

But for all the heavy amount of cliche stylistic trappings that this song has in spades, it does manage a few unique points that largely help, and only occasionally hinder it. Much of this comes in the form of off-kilter keyboard sounds that would be more readily found on a dance/techno remix of a Fear Factory song. They are not terribly prominent and sort of coast along side the generally militaristic aggression and occasional atmospheric keyboard breaks that dominate the listen. On the other hand, the drum machine sound employed throws things off a bit with a very mechanical and robotic character that actually cuts against the organic elements going on, particularly during the blast sections where the M-60 sound of the snare drum gets a bit overpowering.

As far as newer, cleanly produced black metal with a melodic and symphonic character to it, this is a pretty solid song that could probably be improved further with either a live drummer or at least some tweaks in the attack of the synthetic snare drum to level things off a bit. It's definitely yet another consolation prize for those who wouldn't mind getting another Emperor album, or for something with a similarly modern sounding production, Troll and Old Man's Child. The original elements are generally few and far between, but it doesn't come off as overtly generic or contrived in spite of it all. Hopefully the title of this song is not a literal prediction for the state of this band and they find some time to further hone their craft.