Review Summary: Land of the Rising Sun(spawn).
Hailing from the bustling megalopolis of Tokyo, Mortal Incarnation represent the next generation of death metal from Japan, a country already yielding such venerable names as Transgressor, Intestine Baalism, Gotsu Totsu Kotsu, and Coffins. While this list is probably enough to get perspective listeners interested, it should be said that
Lunar Radiant Dawn does not bear particular sonic similarity to any of them. However, what it does bear similarity to is the level of quality, along with that slightly off-kilter tone known for permeating death metal from the Land of the Rising Sun, providing a unique spin on already established styles.
The "already established styles" of question in the case of the pair of tracks on
Lunar Radiant Dawn would be those of Incantation. However, do not make the mistake of thinking that I intend to say this EP is a rehash of the worn-out "caverncore" offered by a legion of
Onward to Golgotha copycats out there. No, this is something altogether refreshing. While the vocal stylings may remind some of the Craig Pillards and Daniel Corchados of the death metal ecosystem, it's the music itself that really captures the imagination. Structure wise, there are certainly some similarities to the aforementioned New York stalwarts, namely the odd bout of plodding doom intersecting chaotic, swirling death. However, on top of that comes an auditory orgasm of trepidation-laced atmospherics and understatedly melodic lead guitar play that bring to mind diSEMBOWELMENT, the funeral pioneers of Esoteric, or even the Swedish masters themselves; Gorement. In many ways, Mortal Incarnation's sound is the more urgent counterpart to Nephilim's Noose. One could also say that it is a full-breadth expansion to that one absolutely mint riff in "Immortal Cessation" (you all know the one, I've personally mentioned it many a time). It certainly isn't what you might expect from a band whose members go by the monikers of Goatlord, Septic Necrovoid, and Miasma Vortex.
Somewhat immature stage names aside,
Lunar Radiant Dawn is a short glimpse into a sound that is well worth every second it plays and whose mastering compliments it to a fine-tuned degree. More than once upon listening to these songs, I thought "why in the hell haven't more bands succeeded in melding this all together?" Well, no longer do we need to wonder that, for hopefully Mortal Incarnation continues on their path towards death metal supremacy in the very near future.
