Ad Mortem – In Honorem Mortis

Written by on 21-04-2024 at 22:18.

Haven’t we already heard of these Germans from Ad Mortem? Despite the fact that In Honorem Mortis is their debut album, we actually have already encountered their work. The 2020 split, Iudicium Ultimum, with label mates Mavorim, both signed to Purity Through Fire Records, is proof of that. It should come as no surprise that Baptist from Mavorim contributes vocals in the German language on this album. Before that split, Ad Mortem released an even more obscure work in 2019. It happened to be a collaboration as well: a split with the Colombian Stnzr Cult with the telling title Ceremonies For The Apocalyptic Idolatry.

Just go out and sniff up and explore all of this delightful underground black metal mayhem. You will find a bottomless pit filled with filth, greasiness and nastiness. You will enter those layers of the black metal underground where the purity of the instrument and the basic production are evident. On those older splits you could already hear that the black metal of the German Ad Mortem finds its roots in the early ’90s and that there are unmistakable Scandinavian influences. Delightful how the band continuously maintains a high pace and those piercing vocals are truly amazing.

Faces covered in paint, bodies drenched in pig’s blood, a skull, bullet belts, spikes… Everything is ready to explore the debut album of this quartet. Henker’s keyboard theme at the start of Von Hohen Himmeln is nothing but an ominous silence before the storm. Because the storm… It’s coming anyway, and how! The storm rages, the rain pours down in torrents and they do so in the form of threatening, nauseatingly good melodic blast sections. Isn’t this why you listen to black metal? Don’t forget to pay attention to the throaty growls of E. Agressor that are extremely well done! Größer Als Das Leben is a particularly powerful track in which the same malevolent man spits one throaty roar after another before your feet. Perhaps a bit too much at times but that’s okay.

Do you ever get lost in your own life? Does it sometimes seem like your whole life is a labyrinth? This is possible but usually only temporary as there’s always a way out, you just have to search well enough. For six minutes, Ad Mortem gives you a handwritten manual for this. And Baptist? He growls and spits together with Mr. E. Agressor as if it is the sweetest of delights in Auf Kalten Gräbern. Do you find the albums of Mavorim, Totenwache, Eisenkult, Atronos, and, in extension, a lot of Finnish black metal particularly moist, drafty, and enticing? Then you’ll probably appreciate this album as well.

Ad Mortem has successfully tried to master the art of melodic black metal on their debut In Honorem Mortis, and I can confidently say that these four Germans have managed to produce a hallucinatory and delicious piece of work in that regard!

Score:

90/100

Label:

Purity Through Fire Records, 2024

Tracklisting:

  1. Von Hohen Himmeln
  2. Größer Als Das Leben
  3. Labyrinth
  4. Der Letzte Feind
  5. Urgewalt
  6. Auf Kalten Gräbern
  7. Todesstreben
  8. Death & Beyond

Line-up:

  • BS – Guitars
  • TF – Drums
  • Henker – Bass, keyboard
  • E. Aggressor – Vocals

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