There are certain genres of music that even a person who writes about music can find themselves ignorant of. Such was my state when I recently listened to the new album Low Tide by Morosity.
Low Tide is the band’s second release (Misanthrope was their debut in 2011), and was recorded at band member Jesse Albrecht’s home studio Evensong Studio. My intrigue about just what genre Morosity fit into came from the fact that although there is certainly the metal sound overall, it is drenched in an Eastern European/Middle Eastern folk style via the mandolin, violin and dulcimer.
I reached out to Jesse Albrecht–the band’s lead vocalist, guitarist and player of the hammered dulcimer to check in about the band’s influences. Albrecht listed some of the more well known: Soundgarden, Queens of the Stone Age, Danny Elfman, and some of the lesser known: Days of the New, J. Echobrain–but wait…his biggest personal influence was Dead Can Dance-especially their lyrical and vocal style and THE dulcimer. It all led back to my original query so of course I dug deeper, and the genre that I think best describes their sound best is–Metal Folk! I don’t want to pigeonhole Morosity, they certainly embody the darker and heavier rock sound in the tradition of bands like Alice in Chains as well.
Now metal has never been my go to, but for so many worldwide is it nearly their religion. I can appreciate their fierce loyalty and the fact that these bands have created such a community, or legion of fans. Minnesota has its own network of local metal bands, and Morosity sets itself apart with their inclusion of what are traditionally considered folk instruments.
To really dig into Morosity’s Folk Metal style I recommend listening to the title track “Low Tide”, a song saturated with Albrecht’s darkly poetic lyrics and sung in his widely ranging but at times dirge-like vocals. Jason Wolfe’s violin creates an elegant backdrop to the song.
“Smoke & Mirrors” has a stunner of an intro, the guitar and dulcimer creating this sonic place for your mind to drift off to before the song erupts at an urgent pace into a raucous place. It is my favorite track of the album that was released on CD on Valentine’s Day, and will be released on green vinyl in May of this year.
One song that I had a bit of trouble with was “Death Grip.” It is not the song, which is an amazingly well crafted piece of tragic satire. The subject of killing in reference to specific situations that have actually occurred I found provocative to say the least, however, it was the whistling interlude that I found most chilling:
Lately I just wanna kill someone
You can hide away the ammo
Lock up all the guns
But if I really wanna have some fun
There ain’t nothing gonna stop me
Til’ the job is done
I wanna kill someone
(Lyrics from https://www.youtube.com/user/Morosityband)
I am so happy to hear music that open my ears to a new place. Thank you Morosity for helping me out with this. Keep an eye on their website for info on upcoming shows:
https://morosity.bandcamp.com/album/low-tide
~Rebecca Marx
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