Artist: Galvanizer / Morbific
Country: Finland
Label: Iron Corpse
Formats: Split cassette tape
Year: 2023
To add some lustre to their joint tour, these Finnish bands are releasing a split tape where, in a pretty pink and yellow cover, they want to show off their very best side. At the time of writing, the tape seems to be sold out from the record label, so only the lucky few who were able to attend the tour will be able to pick up a copy, or hope they don’t sell everything on their trek. Neither band will be a blank sheet for the seasoned Death Metal fanatic. Both Galvanizer and Morbific have already built up a modest discography that has been slung into the world by respected labels like Me Saco Un Ojo and Extremely Rotten Records.
Opener is Galvanizer, a band that has charmed me from their very start, bringing to the table a nice gooey old school approach to Death Metal. Without sounding like an exact copy, they are clearly connected to their Finnish roots in which a solid Grindcore sound underlies. On the three tracks on this split tape, however, very little of that Grindcore foundation remains. The whole thing still sounds very rough in character, but it mostly seems to have lost some of its heaviness. However, that need not be a problem if, as in this case, you get an ambiance in return that is actually somewhat reminiscent of demo-era Paradise Lost. I am personally very curious to know whether this musical turnaround will be limited to this tape or if this is something we will see further elaborated in the future.
Morbific, on the other hand, actually comes up with material that feels like a logical follow-up to its last album, ‘Squirm Beyond The Mortal Realm’. But changes can again be observed… On that last album, Morbific has also opted, whether intentionally or not, for largely abandoning the ultimate heavy, almost Goregrind-like sound. The sound as used on the last album took a lot of getting used to, but on this tape, the band harkened back to their old-fashioned, unpolished and coarsely heavy nature. While the band’s fundamentals are clearly unchanged, the blubbery riffs combined with the production and sound have now almost found an equivalent of the better, swampy Devourment riffs. But be not worried, there are no swinging or overly-grooving riffs and certainly no Brutal Death Metal vocals. Although Morbific have not lost their Grindcore roots, witness the sporadic blast beats and the gritty guitar sound, the band still seems to be somewhat in search of exactly what they want. If you were to ask me, I’d suggest to stick to the formula as heard on this tape, that seems to fit so much better than the somewhat strange sound on ‘Squirm Beyond The Mortal’.
