Premiere: Mordant Rapture – “Quell the Voiceless”
New tech death from The Artisan Era. Need I say more?
Well, yes, as it turns out; Mordant Rapture deserves more. This is a band that sounds hungry, and they’ve put in the work to make their music the best it can be. That work has borne fruit, and we’re bringing you the first of it with “Quell The Voiceless” from their upcoming EP, The Abnegation. Let’s get right to it:
“Quell the Voiceless” wastes no time in letting you know what you’re in for, opening with a controlled but staggering burst of guitar and drums under a thick layer of strings and piano. You’ll probably notice that those orchestrations sit fairly high in the mix; they’re just as important as the rest of the instrumentation, both providing a guide for your ear through the chaos and defining a very dramatic framework in which the band can flex their technical muscles.
And flex they do; in terms of raw skill, Mordant Rapture can hang with the best of them, shredding fretboard and kit alike with ease. The aforementioned level of control is impressive, too, as they don’t simply go full blasting and arpeggios all the time. The rhythms twist and change frequently but consistently, making them much more impactful than if it had just been a constant stream of notes. Even the vocal cadence feels more deliberate than the norm, like it belongs to the music rather than simply being an afterthought, and his raspy black metal influenced scream perfectly complements the grim atmosphere. All of these elements mix together to create something that feels equal parts film score and death metal, a perfect backdrop for the band to tell the album’s story.
Bandcamp | Webstore
We won’t have to wait long for the rest of this beast; The Abnegation comes out July 13th on The Artisan Era. Mordant Rapture is a worthy addition to their formidable lineup, and you should tell them as much on Facebook. Get hype!