Transmuting the blood-rush of thrashing violence into rituals of ecstatic empyrean death San José, Costa Rica-based death metal quartet Mortual achieve their fourth-stage monstrous form and idyllic sound on this second mLP. Coughed from the southern winds of Pazuzu and possessing all onlookers with its thunderous depiction ‘Evil Incarnation‘ is a strike of ball-lightning upon the populace in the ancient late 80’s/early 90’s death metal tradition, thrashed and storming in its embodiment of the beast. With a diabolic intensity meant to incite and possess, this bouldering and bashed-out death metal record manages a classic South American extreme metal edge at a brilliant level of authenticity.

Mortual formed back in 2017 as they’d stepped away from their previous incarnation (Sepulchrated) while preserving their feral take on speed/thrash metal inspired death metal for the sake of an ‘old school’ death metal result which was authentic in its core statement. Though appropriately crude for a demo recording, their first tape (‘Mortual‘, 2017) depicted humanity as a self-effacing species, a crude and misanthropic portrait carved in brutal death/thrash metal. For their first official EP release (‘Divine Monstrosity‘, 2020) they’d swapped in a new vocalist, added a new bassist (who was also briefly their drummer) and appeared to focus on a cosmic horror/science fiction themed result which was far more technical and fluid in its movement. From my point of view there was a bit of Mortem (Peru) in their drummer’s attack still and the violent feeling of ‘Sacro‘-era Masacre to some degree though that version of the band seemed interested in a more progressive direction in some latent sense. For this third album the seats have shifted again as guitarist Justin Sánchez now also performs lead vocals and a new rhythm section includes members/ex-members of Cryptum and Neurochrony, once again changing their sound without harming their original intent.

The long-upheld goal of retaining a classicist thrashed out form of death metal remains their point of purpose on ‘Evil Incarnation‘ which is essentially a demo that was deemed solid enough to print, now finding various editions from multiple labels beyond its digital release. Always sinister but never this wrathful in its use of brutality for tension Mortual now ascends to a bestial, otherworldly deeper underground style of death metal on this latest mLP as we stab through the cavernous walls per the primacy of opener “Morbid Thoughts”, already feeling the echoic reverb filling the room with arcane ‘old school’ energy. In addition to ‘Decomposed by Possession‘-level reap returning on the drums we find Florida death metal is typically at the heart of their attack, specifically Morbid Angel for this first song but with deeper nods to (earlier) Deicide and Monstrosity‘s first LP as we’re thrown down the ~22 minute abysm herein. From that first song ‘Evil Incarnation‘ breathes fire between its whammy-pitched lead guitar swells, rawly bellowed commands from Sánchez vocals, and blazing raw riffcraft — still dead-set on the destructive, jagged and malevolent style they’ve been working on for several years.

Mortual‘ve hit upon a few unexpected points here, specifically the dramatic plateau which “Dimensional Chaos” reaches at its midpoint, extending the life of the song and helping it become a standout, the deepest impression made beyond the violent opening statements, within an otherwise densely set full listen. As it turns out these two guitarists still thrash and there are some death/thrashing moments here beyond the Sadistic Intent style rush of it all with “Master of Possession” showing Mortual can not only cut through rhythms that count within well-considered rants but also build some tension behind their launch. Though the first spin was chaotic and thrilling in its violently stated aggression ultimately this type of album lives by way of its string of riffs, especially an EP length record which focuses so intently on its rhythmic aggression. Thankfully these folks have riffs and keep the rush through entertaining, dense with adrenaline-level ideas which made for a welcome repeat listen anytime I’d picked it up. A tweak or two on the bass in the mix, a few more leads, and at least one or two slower built songs and this’d have been on the level of some of my favorite death metal records this year. A high recommendation.

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