DODSFERD/MORTOVATIS "UNTIL YOUR WORLD GO DOWN" (Moribund Cult)

What the fuck is this? I like Dodsferd a lot but this is an astonishing throw away from such an excellent project. Dodsferd tracks normally run between 7-15 minutes but here they turn in two "unreleased" studio tracks about three minutes each and one live track hitting about five minutes. The live track i'll find no fault with as Dodsferd's relentless approach would pretty much wreak hell on any human drummer expected to keep it up for 10 minutes, but the studio tracks are just an embarrassment. Should have just kept those in the vault, seriously, as they do nothing to further the Dodsferd recorded legacy and in honest regard come across as nothing more than mere black metal sketches extremely derivative of early Darkthrone. There's no identity to Dodsferd's approach here, no mark of individuality, just a general feeling that as long as there's some Dodsferd in the can it might as well see release. I'm saddened to see such a misstep from an artist whose work has only grown on me with each successive release-normally Dodsferd are an awesome band, probably one of Greece's absolute best black metal entities, but here the material is just beyond sub-par.

Mortovatis's track, on the other hand, is fucking mind-blowing, and seems to be the reason for this split's existence. Maybe Moribund just wanted to release something by these guys; i certainly can't blame them but why not just make it an EP? Mortovatis are an entirely new band with nothing released prior that i am aware of; their track here is a 25 minute piece of crushing psychedelic black metal that completely fucking DETROYS. Ridiculously repetitive and riddled with an endless whine of scorching feedback, this song just drags on and on and on until you're beyond reduced and ready to submit to any sort of new riff no matter how good or bad it might be. Flattening in the best possible way, an astounding approach redolent of masters like Burzum and Trist but also possessed by the spirit of drugged out ancient head-nodders like Neu! and Skullflower. An impressive amalgamation of black metal urgency and noisy psyched-out devastating bliss, definitely a band to stay abreast of.

If Moribund meant to fuck with people's heads, then they've certainly succeeded. If they thought for one iota that these Dodsferd tracks were a worthy side of a split then they were sorely mistaken. I love the idea of splits where the bands are at odds with one another, and had these been exemplary Dodsferd tracks i would rate this record a lot higher. As is, it's still awesome based on Mortovatis's contribution alone-i'd say get this fucker if you want to get zoned into the fucking ground-but it falls a little short of the quality i would expect from such an excellent known band and established label.