Mütiilation: Sorrow Galaxies (2007)

In the early to mid 1990's, France was the home to a wave of black metal bands.  Calling themselves Les Légions Noires (The Black Legions), the members frequently collaborated together and formed and re-formed in a variety of lineups to make up different bands.  The common thread between the bands was raw recording quality.  Very few of the bands stood the test of time ultimately.  A few of them made lasting impressions.  Groups like Bèlketre, Torgeist and Vlad Tepes released well-regarded albums.  Mütiilation fit in with those bands as well.

This is just the second Mütiilation release I have heard, after their legendary album (and perhaps the single most widely-known LLN release) Vampires of Black Imperial Blood.  They are also probably the longest-lasting LLN group, running on and off until 2017 or so.  Mütiilation was made up of one primary member, Meyhna'ch, and the occasional session musician.  After the height of the LLN, Mütiilation went on to gradually change and mature their sound. 

And this all takes us to Mütiilation's 2007 release, their sixth full-length album.  To date, this is the band's last full-length album and Meyhna'ch has only released an EP, a compilation of rare demos and a split with Drowning the Light and Satanic Warmaster.  It is not an easy album to get into.  As is typical for the style, there is nothing melodic or pretty here.  Even the slower parts are characterized by Meyhna'ch's tortured howling and atonal guitar chords.  The faster parts meanwhile consist primarily of tremolo riffing and pounding drums.  This is the first Mütiilation release to feature a live drummer instead of a drum machine, which is a big help.  The songs are long, each of them eclipsing the nine-minute mark, and they feature a number of tempo changes, which does help to keep from losing the attention of the listener.  But with just four songs, and of such a length, it is not easy to just turn the album on as background music. 

I still think I prefer the more raw, primal sound Mütiilation produced on their earlier releases.  The band has managed to improve their sound somewhat, while not completely turning against their roots.  Unfortunately, this album just does not have the same morbid charm as the earlier material.  Maybe if there were some shorter songs mixed in, it would have a different feel.  Mütiilation is definitely not for everyone.  This is a challenging release, but I have found that I like it quite a bit.  Just not as much as their earlier material.