Mortal Man – ‘Dawn Of The Time Immortal’

North Carolina heavy-metal band, Mortal Man introduce their new EP, ‘Dawn Of The Time Immortal’, out now. Founded on a basis of stoner, doom and southern metal groove, with epic battle tales, woven within, via powerful melodies.

As indicated by the title, ‘DOTTI’ delves into the topics of mortality, immortality and the fight to live; transporting you, to the darkest depths of our basic human instincts and primal urges.

Influenced by Thin Lizzy, Judas Priest and The Sword, MM aims to emulate some of those sounds, while incorporating natures soundtracks and essence into their material; ultimately depicting, aurally, an in-between world.

Co-mingling fantasy with reality, MM’s experimental style enables opposite worlds to merge; evoking the atmospherics of those worlds.

‘DOTTI’ will catch you, unawares, with its metallic power and imagery.

Insular World – Bounce effect opens, with ocean waves surrounding it and light riffs play out, amid intriguing spoken word lyrics. A slightly anthemic chorus precedes typical power/speed metal refrains. Heavy melodies, loosened bass tones and slower rhythms add an almost grunge form to the sound. Fluid rhythmic alternations keep it interesting and imaginative. Injecting slight stoner vibes, here and there. Fading smoothly, with a slight mystique.

Elixir – Instant speed metal hit). Very classic stuff. Very decent, melodic chorus and some well delivered anthemic shouts. Lots of enthusiasm. A strong Maiden-esque quality to this, with a Savatage-esque edge of darkness. Good strong narratives. Those shouts are increasingly catchy. Well conveyed atmospherics. Slowing it down, some, with a more quiescent section, towards the end, before blowing it back up, to an explosive close.

Heed The Call – Drum rolls intro, straight onto another traditional melodic metal audioscape. A well arranged track, deftly performed. Sustaining that upbeat sound. Brief spoken section, after the bridge. A strong sense of comfort, in this track’s flow and execution. Just a very easy rhythmic groove.

Sacrifice – A quick-fire drum roll opens, onto a speeding bass line and riff refrain. Very classic stuff, again, with a powerful melodic thread. Speeding up, some more, employing a bit of stop-start and wobble. Sustaining those groove rhythms, all the way. The bounce returns, around the bridge. Some great experimental twists and strands, here and there. Clear vocal passion, handling the grit as well as the melody. Ending on a well worked reverb effect.

Leviatron And The Sentient Lake – An unexpected turn, to gothic darkness, with a haunting horror theme. Slowed pace, befitting the unsettling lyrics. Some spoken sections, evoking terror. Suddenly segueing, into a quicker, lighter riff tone, at the bridge, but darkening the lyrics, further. Several moments of silence, at the end, as it ends too soon.

Transmogrification – Back to a happier, melodic metal tone, at the intro). Very acute riffage, while sustaining the fluidity. The speed returns, with the melody). The same high quality, retaining the conviction. Still a slight sinister essence, in places, but encased within a lighter, more uplifting tone. Peak vocal precision and prominent bass, on the way to the echoed end.

Overall – A great listen, with a lot of passion and an assuringly traditional heavy melodic metal sound, ‘DOTTI’ also features numerous original twists and turns. Though the change of direction, from track 1, to 2 seems a little too stark, there’s no faulting the performance of either, as with the rest. Sustaining interest, via unique touches and effects, throughout, its experimentalism matches its comfortable accessibility. Leaving aside those few moments of dead air, at the end of track 5, ‘DOTTI’ could be said to be a classic, with individuality.

9/10 *********

For fans of Iron Maiden, Voltax, Savatage, Metallica, Cast Iron, Blakenstein, Black Sabbath, Satarial, Altheniko, Portrait.