Mord’A’Stigmata - Dreams of Quiet Places (2019)

Slowly building up, “Void Monolith” starts the performance with an introduction to craft psychedelic extravagance thanks to the warm and fuzzy distorted guitars and trippy synths. The madness truly begins with the chaotic “The Shamanic Vision” and its crushing drumming. The deranged vocals make this song even more terrifying thanks to their unique range and style. The underlying melodies of songs like “Seeker’s Reflection” and “Journey to the Center of Mass” are quite intoxicating with a certain jazzy vibe, and perfectly crafted around trippy tempo changes.

Opening with the intricate atmospherics of “Between Walls of Glass”, the track sets a very hypnotic and ritualistic vibe that slowly builds up as the electric guitars come into play. Evoking the psychotic rhythmic powers of bands like Oranssi Pazuzu, the band sets a very unique vibe to this release. Keeping the weirdness going with its odd tempo changes, “Exiles” gives more of a Post-Metal vibe paired with hellish screams and pretty intense drumming.

Madness ensues as “Spirit Into Crystal” has a dark Goth Rock edge to it when the clean vocals come in, but it still manages to build some sinister BM-ish passages in perfect unison. The jazzy and improvisational nature of songs like “The Strain” and “Void Within” is perfectly contrasted by the band’s aggressive onslaughts, being insane harsh vocals or furious riffing and drumming onslaughts, creating an uniquely bizarre sinergy.

Closing with the futuristic album title track, the band introduces electronic elements and a very cool interstella vibe full of weirdness and brilliance. As a whole, “Dreams of Quiet Places” is one trippy and very unique release that is full of surprises and continues the interesting legacy of Mord’A’Stigmata. Definitely not for the faint of heart, this release will provide you with countless hours of replay value thanks to all its hidden intricacies.

Label: Pagan Records

Release:April 4th, 2019

Genre: Avant-garde/Post-Black Metal

Country: Poland