Having been a fan of Peaceville ever since picking up a copy of Paradise Lost’s ‘Gothic’ album, it’s always a matter of some excitement when a new package arrives through the door. This time it is the new EP from Madder Mortem, a band whose name I have heard many times, but have never quite got round to checking out. Shame on me, for on this evidence they are an unpredictable and unique band fronted by a singer with a great voice and backed by a supremely talented band.
‘Where dream and day collide’ is an EP which offers up a sublime track from the band’s last album (2009’s ‘eight ways’) in both single edit and album version, as well as three new tracks and a video. The title track is one which I presume aficionados will already know, but if you are unfamiliar with the band, it is a laid-back jazzy number which fairly bursts into life with metallic life around the mid section before dipping back into its previously laid-back vibe without so much as a by-your-leave.
‘Jitterheart’ is unquestionably more ‘metal’ than the previous track, with skittering guitar overlaying the formidably tight rhythm sections jazzy explorations of rhythm and Agnete’s strikingly unconventional vocals binding the whole thing together. For someone unfamiliar with the band (a state of affairs I plan to remedy straight away) the effect is stunningly powerful and to hear something so unique is refreshing in a time when the major labels seem more unwilling than ever to produce anything other than the same old blandness. ‘The purest strain’ is yet more jazzy still, employing the sort of unconventional stylistic changes that Mr Bungle managed so well, but with Agnete’s perfect vocals in the place of Mike Patton’s freak-outs. Final track ‘Quietude’ is a beautiful work, the intro of which recalls Seattle slow-core band Low, with its slow pace, picked guitar and vocal melody. It’s a fitting end to a suitably manic EP and all that remains is the album version of the title track which is nice to have if you don’t have the original but which is, otherwise, somewhat superfluous, not that it matters when you consider the quality of the tracks on offer.
Rounding out the EP you have a CD extra version of the title track’s fine video and the sort of beautifully produced packaging the Peaceville excel at (particularly when you consider the My Dying Bride and Barren Earth EPs which also benefitted from the label’s attention to detail).
All in all then you have a tasty package which serves as a tasty introduction to the band, and a bonus for fans who will want to pick this up for the subtle, exciting and moving extra tracks. A sumptuous work that you will want to return to time and time again.
