Mater Thallium: Mirroring Whirlwinds

Norwegian progressive rock band Mater Thallium which I first became familiar witrh upon reviewing their 2014 effort. The band has released three albums thus far: Mater Thallium (2013), Abandoned By The Sun (2014) and Mirroring Whirlwinds (2019). The music on their latest platter is quite dark and somber, having that certain feel of the north country. This is a very dynamic disc, sometimes dense and almost suffocating, other times more feathery light, a contrast between light and dark. I should also point out the record is produced by Rhys Marsh, a name some of you may be familiar with and a big plus in my book as I enjoy most everything he has been involved with.

The disc begins with “Mirrored Whirlwinds�, an adventurous tune with haunting organ, mellow acoustic guitar, full bore assaults into heavy prog and varied lead vocals. I must say I really dig Petter Falk’s voice. The smooth and gentle flow of “Familicide� is interrupted by crashing rhythms signifying the disturbing and dark nature of the lyrics. This is not a happy story but you will have to read the lyrics for yourself. Lovely acoustic guitar and both female and male vocals give “Fading Faces� a rather dark aura while “Suffer The Undead� is a mixture of unsettling prog and folk sounds. One of the heaviest tracks is “Regaining Sanity� where doom laden guitar riffs intermingle with distorted percussion and layered synths. It’s both hard rocking and incredibly creative.

I am just so impressed with Mater Thallium. Yes, this is dark music with lyrics just as dark but I found myself listening to it again and again. The sign of an excellent album.

An LL Records release.

Mater Thallium is:
Petter Falk (lead and backing vocals)
HÃ¥kon Markussen (acoustic and electric piano, synthesizers, pump organ, backing vocals)
Erik Andås (bass guitar and backing vocals)
Geir Venom Larzen (drums and percussion, acoustic and electric guitars, backing vocals)

Track Listing:
1. Mirrored Whirlwind (6:44)
2. Familicide (5:10)
3. Desolation Throne (6:04)
4. Fading Faces (5:00)
5. Womb Raiding (6:30)
6. Suffer The Undead (5:44)
7. Regaining Sanity (6:04)
8. Plaintive Recurrence (4:04)

Added: April 8th 2020
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Band @ Bandcamp
Hits: 850
Language: english

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