Mortillery are a thrash metal band from Edmonton in Canada. Their musical influences include Judas Priest, English Dogs, Warfare, Broken Bones, Iron Maiden, Crucifix, Slayer, W.A.S.P. Motorhead, Municipal Waste and early Metallica. That “early Metallica” bit gives you a hint what the music is going to be like – as early Metallica was much faster than their newer material, and indeed Mortillery play fast heavy thrash.
Since forming in 2008 they’ve had a few lineup changes before settling on the current lineup in May 2010. Murder Death Kill is the band’s first album (they released an EP in mid 2010).
Brief comments on a couple of the tracks.
“Fritzl’s cellar” starts with the reading of the guilty verdict against Austrian Josef Fritzl – a man who kept his daughter imprisoned in a cellar for most of her life where he abused her. It’s a perfect subject matter for a particularly fast and angry sounding song.
“Without weapons” is a mix of heavy metal and thrash metal with its clean vocals for the verses leading into the screaming chorus. It’s beautifully done and flows very well. An excellent track
Cara McCutchen’s vocals work very well with the band’s fast and heavy thrash metal – her screaming vocals have plenty of power and aggression and are clear enough that the lyrics are clear (I’m not a fan of vocals that are just unintelligible growls – whats the point of making an effort to write good lyrics if nobody can tell what they are).
Mortillery aren’t the sort of band you’d usually associate with Napalm – typically their female fronted bands tend to be gothic or symphonic metal, but Napalm do seem to be diversifying with some of their recent signings, and when the bands they sign are this good then nobody is going to complain.
A great thrash album and I look forward to hearing the bands next album.
“Murder Death Kill” is out now via Napalm records
Rating: 8/10
Mortillery are:
Cara McCutchen – Lead Vocals,
Alex Scott – Lead Guitar,
Alex Gutierrez – Rhythm Guitar,
Kevin Gaudet – Drums,
Miranda Gladeau – Bass
Track listing:
1. Murder Death Kill
2. Sacrifice
3. Evil Remains
4. Fritzl’s Cellar
5. Outbreak
6. Despised By Blood
7. Countless Suicide
8. Voracious Undead
9. Without Weapons
10. Mortal Artillery
