Sadistik Forest - Official Website

Morbid Majesties

Finland Country of Origin: Finland
1. Preludium
2. T.M.D.
3. Wreck The Temples (Ascend To Utter Darkness)
4. Nine Prayers, Red Wine
1. Morbidly Majestic
2. Decades Of Torment Then Death
3. The Hour Of Dread
5. Zero Progress
6. Monsters Of Death
7. The Maelstrom Opens
8. Bones Of A Giant

Review by Felix on July 16, 2022.

Black metal is pain and despair, isolation and misanthropy, bloodlust and aggression. And maybe it is even more, but you will find all these things in the sound of Kringa, a very remarkable band from Austria. “Total Mental Desecration” has a pretty rumbling demo sound, but this does not affect the overall impression in a negative way. Exactly the opposite is true. The blurred and somewhat ill-defined mix wraps the listener like a hazy fog without a chance to escape. I don’t think that it is possible to lend an ear to the EP occasionally. Either you dive completely into the material or you better stay away. From my point of view, I highly recommend the first option.

The songs show a solid degree of individuality and in particular the vocals contribute a massive dose of negative feelings. Two dudes of the four-piece share the singing, but the basic tone is always the same. Desperate howling gives the four shadowy outbursts a lot of aroma. But the instrumental configurations are also appreciable. The band commutes between aimlessly meandering yet mostly stunning parts and straight hammering sequences. Whenever the Austrians switch into their furious mode, an outstanding black metal experience is guaranteed. Above all, “Wreck the Temples (Ascend to Utter Darkness)” shows how powerful the band can go to work. Especially its driving passages are phenomenal. But the anthem for my girlfriend’s favourite drink (“Nine Prayers, Red Wine”) reveals the compositional class of the unit as well. The song crosses the eight minutes mark with great ease and offers everything – only three seconds of boredom are missing. No doubt, the A side of the vinyl (these 10” with their special format are always nice) sounds great and intensive, but the second half is even better. The darkness becomes all-encompassing, you can't see your hand in front of your eyes and actually it's a pity that it's summer and not a freezing winter. But true black metal disciples like us naturally recognize a genre gem regardless of the season.

What I like very much is that Kringa are able to create a very dense atmosphere without the use of keyboards. Their music conveys a cruel touch as well as a hopeless one. No doubt, this marks a pretty mature work for newcomers. But the strong atmosphere just reflects the compositional class of the band. Their songs are neither repetitive nor heterogeneous. The different parts (the wild, the strict, the meditative) are cleverly connected and given this fact, the diabolically good flow of the pieces is only logical. Finally, the material scores with a pretty personal note – at least for me who is not very familiar with a lot of formations in the “similar artists” list (shame on me!). However, I can say that some sequences of “Nine Prayers, Red Wine” are not too far away from the compositions which made “De Mystereiis Dom Sathanas” to the unique masterpiece it is. I guess a greater compliment is hardly possible.

rating: 9.3 out of 10 

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Review by Alex on June 6, 2018.

I find it criminal that Sadistik Forest have not been mentioned amongst more notable bands within the underground death metal scene. Prior to encountering this monstrous mount of malevolence in the body of Morbid Majesties I hadn't any knowledge of their existence. Upon investigation, I had discovered that Sadistik Forest existed since 2010. Since then they have released 2 full-length albums and 1 split EP featuring a death metal band known as Septory (I will be turning in their direction soon). Now in 2018 we have Morbid Majesties passing down its judgment onto the scene via wicked combinations of gruesome death growls, twisted shrieks (that sound like a cross between Randy Blythe of Lamb of God and Heljarmadr of Grá) and versatile drumming and guitars. The atmosphere Sadistik Forest paints on Morbid Majesties is strange, sometimes it feels like melodic blackened death metal, other times it radiates an apocalyptic thrash metal aurora whilst still keeping intact the death metal identity of the band. Finland is notorious for producing quality metal bands and Sadistik Forest is no exception to this.

Morbid Majesties opens with its self titled track and puts on a display of cavernous wretchedness unlike anything I've heard thus far in 2018 in terms of a new release. The growls sound deep and gurgling; it is reinforced by rugged screams and wrecking drumming and guitars. The drumming and guitars really battle for command on this 3:51 opener. Thrash metal guitar groves are mashed against the wall by brisk drumming that changes its arrangements to match the sly guitar riffing. The second track does the same; it has a war march feeling that suits the tempo of the album as a collective. Then there are slower songs such as “The Hour of Dread” which has a sedating speed, it is centered around groovy drumming and chugging guitars. There is a doomy aspect that is awakened when the guttural growls step forth. The guitar solo on it is suiting for the tempo; it has a high pitch and a great melody that matches the creeping flow of the composition. The best track on the album is a toss-up between “Zero Progress” and “Bones of A Giant”. There is a huge polarity in song structure, feeling, rhythm and time. I find it funny that the longest and shortest pieces on Morbid Majesties compete with each other. Primarily, one offers more diversity and the other offers more aggression and better songwriting. They bring out the best of the band in each aspect of their music thus advertising their skill set.

Morbid Majesties pulses with energetic and vibrant music. It is a must own for every death metal supporter/enthusiast. The incorporation of each aspect is well timed; nothing appears to be overwhelming on this sick installation. The artwork is beautifully grotesque; it struck me at first glance. I can imagine how warped a colored vinyl edition would look, especially if it matches the cover image. A green vinyl with black haze and red splatter would be terrific; take my money! This lawless legion of Sadistik Forest and Transcending Obscurity will shake and shatter the death metal underground.

Rating: 8.1 out of 10

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