A Pathway Through Forgotten Woods

Since I've been searching for and listening to more black metal in recent years, I've come across a lot of bands and records that I love. I've also found that I prefer to listen to black metal of the more ambient and majestic variety. There is some of that ambient majesty hidden within Mors Voluntaria's sound. Suicide is a raw song where the vocals take the focal point. The instrumentation that sits behind them is slightly obscured by a raw production. I guess that's one of the pitfalls of playing and recording you own instruments, though. The final bars, though, are a revelation with anguished spoken word and screamed vocals alongside some much needed melody, which ends the song on a high note (if that's possible with black metal!).

Hang Me A Noose For My Smile was originally on the earlier 2013 promo. This is more of a noise song than a black metal song at first listen. It features a lot of winding noise and screams that seem to intertwine with it. It rumbles on in that fashion for five and a half minutes, kind of acting like a semi-instrumental track. Mors Voluntaria end with Suicide II, which picks up where Suicide left off. There's a lengthy instrumental build up as you'd expect, but there is more melody poking through. The drums can be heard in the background alongside a droning bass line. This song is purely instrumental.

Overall, this is a tape of three very different parts. It sees Mors Voluntaria exploring its sound and influences. There's definite potential here and with more writing, recording, and production time, I can see Mors Voluntaria progressing into a truly great British black metal band.