After greasing up their long-dead engines with Uprising in 2000, there was really only one path Entombed could be hiking...the one that would lead them back to the grave. Yes, Morning Star is the most metal release the band had written since Clandestine, with even less of a rock infusion than 1993's Wolverine Blues. That is not to say the band has abandoned the blues and punk influence of their past few albums, for it remains an 'option' here, used only in a few tracks and often to better effect than when it was the norm. There's also an increased attention here for the occult and religious themes which would persist through the albums following this (Inferno and Serpent Saints).Morning Star is not death metal in the sense that the band's classics Left Hand Path and Clandestine were, though. This is more of a slowed-down barbaric crunch metal Entombed, with a huge production, crushing grooves, and an element of thrash. The Swedes have always given me impressions of Slayer when they write their faster evil breakdowns, and perhaps more on this album than any other. This is an album Tom Araya and company might have written, but with the obvious differences in guitar tone and L-G Petrov's vocals. It also has a step 'forward' in production value from the very brash, dirty Uprising the previous year, but it makes sense, as this is a very different type of record. And most notably, the lyrics here are an enormous leap above the last three albums, weaving heavy handed sacrilege into relevant, cautionary tales that involve our modern lives.
"Chief Rebel Angel" begins with the pulse of a 'heart', the dull smack of a few acoustic notes awash in sprightly pianos, before a tour de force in chords grinds your soul into chopped liver, like facing down leviathan at 20 paces. The sequence of notes is rather familiar, but given a vibrant infusion of aggression that works as quick concrete below Petrov's vocals. The chorus alone is the best thing the band has done in years, breeding much anticipation for the tracks to come, and when the band hits that doomed sequence at 3:10, it's simply ON. "I For An Eye" rocks out with all the crunch of a Clandestine track re-mastered for the modern era, a huge groove akin to more modern Slayer, but better, flowing forward like a set of brass knuckles to the chin of God. When the band hits the bridge, it's almost pure oldschool Entombed! Bang thy fucking head I exclaim. "Bringer of Light" evolves about its central, sluglike grace, a thundering groove that erupts beneath some faintly audible atmospheric guitars. The track also has some of the best Entombed lyrics I've yet read, in particular the clever chorus:
At the head of all tables, bringer of light, here I am...I'm your man!
I will kill you if I must, I will help you if I can, I'm your man!
At the head of all tables, here I am, I'm your man!
I will help you if I must I will kill you if I can!
That's pretty bad ass right there, not to mention the rest of the lyrics in the song. I truly enjoy the Satanic undertones implied through a few of the songs here. "Ensemble of the Restless" starts with a meaty grooving grunge rock tone which wouldn't sound out of place from the band Gruntruck, save for the the uptempo thrash beat that explodes into the hardcore punk of the chorus. "Out of Heaven" builds a nice, rock groove to a steady beat, and for some reason I am again reminded of something Slayer might write, the vocals just have that bitter edge to them. "Young Man Nihilist" belts out another thick rhythm, a crushing use of the band's distinct guitar tones with an energetic sprinkle of liberating lyrics, and a kickass death/thrash bridge. "Year One Now" is the type of track I'd expect to hear more from Sick of It All than Entombed, a big political hardcore kick in the stomach that breaks for chugging aggression and wailing blues leads.
"Fractures" is a giant, grooving rock saga which hits you like a tank at 15mph. Sure, it might take awhile, but bones WILL be broken. "When it Hits Home" starts with a roughshod mix akin to the entire Uprising album, but it eventually picks up into the production of the rest of the record, a hard rocker with southern swagger which is honestly my least favorite of the album, though it has some of the more entertaining, humorous lyrics on the album.
You fist-fucked the planet and smiled, and licked your fingers clean
As gods come and go, you did not make the winning team
"City of Ghosts" is a a street fighting, barebones brawler which ranges from a crunching mid paced thrash rhythm to some great evocations of Sabbath-like evil doom in the bridge, and one of the more memorable tracks on the latter half of the record. "About to Die" is the band's last foray into bruising speed here, its great riffing made even stronger by the full bodied tone of the guitars and a nice, violent hardcore breakdown. "Mental Twin" is one of the more unusual tracks on Morning Star, a fusion of say...the Melvins and Fugazi, a post-hardcore sheen to the flowing thud of the bass and streaming octave chords that graze off across the skyline like industrial smokestacks.
Although the majority of the songs are well written and even given some rapt lyrical attention, I can't stress enough how the star half of Morning Star should be awarded to the mix. It's deep and overpowering, easily clobbering anything else in the band's career from a technical standpoint (though I have a soft spot for the dark atmosphere of the first two albums). Pouring forth from your speakers, it has an almost soothing, warm effect, despite the inherent hostility of the music itself.
In retrospect, I feel that Morning Star is just as good as Wolverine Blues. It may lack the utter savagery of that album or the novelty of its death & roll image, but it makes up for that with its huge tones and the dark humor of its lyrics. It's no masterpiece, and I don't really care for the music to "When It Hits Home", but it was very exciting to hear the band release another album at this level of quality, after so many years of regress. Uprising was a promising return from the void, but this album is the promise kept and expanded upon.
Highlights: Chief Rebel Angel, Bringer of Light, City of Ghosts, About to Die
Verdict: Win [8.5/10] (a modern hell is an enterprise)
http://www.entombed.org/
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