Murw – Kanker (2011)

After releasing a few demos and a split album in a span of 14 years, we finally have Murw stepping up to the full-length arena with “Kanker”. In this very interesting release, the band delivers 37 minutes of a highly melancholic combination of Doom Metal with some Death/Black Metal elements. Mostly driven by powerful guitar riffs, “Kanker” is a very well-crafted release that deserves attention.

Opening with the crushing “Kanker”, this release sets sail with the heaviest and most ‘Black Metal’ track in the whole album. The raw power behind the riffs and crushing vocals is very dominating, reminding us of older Death/Doom bands from the 90’s. At around 7 minutes long, this song nicely evolves into some Doom-ish melodic passages with weeping guitars and a nice overall atmosphere. Keeping things in ‘Doom mode’, “Als Sneeuw Voor de Zon” sounds like something that Mournful Congregation or Shape of Despair could have crafted.

“De Buitenstaander” again delivers a somewhat BM sounding beginning with a nice double-kick drum section and a very punishing riffs/vocals combo. The semi-acoustic passages are nicely crafted and give a nice tempo to the song, allowing it to be more versatile. Some sections with the clean vocals remind us of a heavier version of Tenhi and similar bands, very well crafted indeed.

Closing the release with “Artificiality”, this song nicely weaves back and forth between Doom and BM influences with a very well-crafted bass guitar line and catchy riffing. The atmosphere in this song is very well crafted and gives you a nice melancholic feeling to it. We have to say that this is by far the most engaging and entertaining song of this release for us.

Overall, we are gladly surprised that “Kanker” turned out to be such an interesting and appealing release. When a band has released so many demos before an actual full-length it raises some concerns for us, but for Murw maybe it was a good thing since they managed to consolidate their sound very well and deliver a great release.

Release: December 31st, 2011

Country: Netherlands