in late March of this year the Catalonian band Morta self-released their second work, a half-hour album (or EP if you prefer) named Fúnebre. There seems to have been a very limited vinyl release accompanying the digital version, but the Portuguese label Signal Rex obviously decided that such a gripping combination of ruination and revelation shouldn’t be allowed to languish in obscurity, because Fúnebre is now set for an August 28 re-release by Signal Rex on CD and tape.

Once you hear Fúnebre — as you will be able to do at the end of this post — it’s not difficult to understand why that decision was made. The album is devoted to black metal of an undeniably rough, raw, and riotous fervency, capable of manifesting bestial terrors, but the riffing is always targeted to evoking emotional responses, and the nature of those moods may surprise you. Continue reading »