Echo Scale: ★★★★(4.0)
Hailing from Grimsby, the two-piece force known as Mormegil—Matt Ogle on vocals and Dan Bendall handling vocals and guitar—have dropped their track “Aliens,” and let me tell you, it’s an experience. Forget taking prisoners; this duo is here to bludgeon your ear drums into submission from the get-go.
An Unholy Genre Mash-Up (In the Best Way)
Right off the bat, “Aliens” wastes no time in pounding you with big, beefy guitar chugs. But just as you’re bracing for a straight-up beatdown, a synth with a delicate tremolo flutter slides in. This isn’t just window dressing; it adds an almost symphonic depth that elevates the track beyond mere auditory assault. It’s a genuinely cool choice, showing these guys have serious layers to their sound.
Now, about that heaviness. Sometimes bands can produce their way into sounding heavy, but that’s not what’s happening here. This isn’t just loud; it’s genuinely f**king brutal. It feels authentic, like they’re dragging you through the aural mud whether you like it or not.
Vocals: A Hellish Duet & A Glimmer of Sanity
Then the vocals kick in, and if you’re a fan of Randy Blythe’s sheer force mixed with the creepy rasp of Dani Filth, you’re in for a treat. They create a vocal tapestry that’s both pulverizing and unsettling.
What truly surprised me, and in a very good way, was the understated clean vocal. In a song this berserk, that clean, almost mournful tone acts like a quiet anchor, pulling you back from the brink of total chaos. It adds a much-needed element of normality to an otherwise unhinged track. It’s a clever counterpoint that truly enhances the song’s depth.
Eclectic Mayhem: From Blast Beats to Funk (Seriously)
Speaking of unhinged, “Aliens” is all over the place like a mad woman’s crap, and I mean that in the best, most eclectic sense possible. There’s a raw black metal blast beat section at 1:06 that will peel paint off your walls, only to then completely pivot into a funky little interlude at 1:23. The sheer juxtaposition is wild, yet they somehow pull it off.
Mormegil clearly aren’t afraid to fuse death metal, black metal, metalcore, and deathcore. What’s more, they do it with a surprising amount of accuracy and true-to-source respect. These guys are putting together tight-knit, well-crafted songs with real direction, even if that direction feels a bit like a rollercoaster on fire.
The Clinical Caveat & A Glimpse of the Future
However, “Aliens” isn’t without its major weak point: a touch of sterility. There’s a real lack of character that feels like it’s been scrubbed away by the production. The dynamic range in the drums feels limited, the guitars are scooped, and the electronic elements, while cool, sometimes join forces to strip away some of the raw soul that I’m convinced these guys would unleash in a live setting. It’s all a bit clinical, a trap a lot of modern metal falls into. You can hear the potential for something truly visceral, but the studio polish dials it back.
Echo Rebel’s Verdict: Embrace the Bleak, Boys!
All in all, “Aliens” is a really solid showing from this Grimsby outfit. If you like your metal heavy—and I mean realllly heavy—then Mormegil is definitely one for your playlist. You’ll love the sheer brutality and the audacious genre-hopping.
My main encouragement for Mormegil moving forward would be to ease back on the production a bit. Let that raw, untamed energy speak for itself. And seriously, let that clean vocalist explore his voice some more! There’s a genuinely natural, bleak tone to it that adds another incredible layer of depth to your sound. Mormegil are clearly a pair of really solid songwriters with a promising, brutal future. Just remember to let that alien soul truly shine through!
