Review Summary: Dissonant in nature, precise by design
Mithridatism is the practice of taking small, gradually increasing doses of potentially poisonous substances to build up immunity to them. The name is derived from Mithridates VI, the king of Pontus, a region in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), who was said to have followed this practice in order to protect himself from being poisoned by his enemies. Two millennia later, the American trio Mithridatum, composed of former members of Abhorrent and The Faceless, embodies the theme through a fictional narrative about a trinity (Mithridatum) that summons an entity known as Harrowing. In the band's own words: "The allegory is inescapable in its illustration of the unrelenting immiseration all incarnate beings must endure, willing or unwilling". In other words, we are born to suffer. An obvious (lapalissade) fact that somehow contradicts mainstream thinking focused on more superfluous first-world issues. Mithridatum's music, while not entirely original, reinforces this alternative approach by creating mostly dissonant soundscapes that draw us into a dimension of controlled chaos, as if we walked into a perfectly messy room knowing exactly where everything is.
As you might guess by now,
Harrowing does not unveil uncharted lands or some other overly progressive passages, but rather an uncanny ability to craft simple yet effective dissonances like a meticulous Swiss goldsmith. Restraint and
savoir-faire are among its most prominent traits. When we look at it as a whole, it's hard to highlight specific parts.
Harrowing functions as a single organism in which everything is interconnected under the same code and towards the same destination; almost like an AI's polished rendition of dissonant canons such as Deathspell Omega and everything relevant that followed. And while this may sound pejorative, it is not. There's an underlying simplicity behind Mithridatum's apparent complexity that appeals to me, a kind of transparency that allows us to observe even the smallest details without unnecessary blur. Michael Garrison's crystal clear sound engineering is a key factor in making this happen, along with the band's meticulous and focused songwriting that never goes astray.
The flow in and between songs is remarkable, providing stable dynamics that never knock us out of orbit. The opener, 'Sojourn', is probably where this is most evident, much due to the strong interplay between all parts of the composition. The contrasts created by constant tempo variations are never sudden or unexpected but rather natural mutations of a developing sound palette. The leadership and technical proficiency of Lyle Cooper's drumming are vital to the process, enhancing the flow and overall cohesion of the music. Even the most contrasting sections, such as the hardcore-ish parts in 'Silhouette' and 'Lower Power', never seem out of place, on the contrary, they give more liveliness to the songs without mischaracterizing them. Geoff Ficco's tortured vocals, reminiscent of Mikko Aspa's style, and how they blend perfectly with the sexy dissonant riffing are also worth mentioning as they provide the proper outer layer to the impressive rhythm section.
Regardless of how you look at it and welcome
Harrowing's more polished character, it seems clear to me that Mithridatum's first foray into dissonant lands is, at the very least, worthy of the utmost attention. It is lethal and irreverent but also sophisticated and charming, organic in nature yet precise by design; a product of a well-established formula that rivals the best players in the game.
