KRISIUN Mortem Solis | Weekly Heavy Metal Album Review

Released by Century Media Records on July 29th, 2022

Quick Background

Krisiun is a Brazilian death metal band founded by the brothers Alex Camargo (bass, vocals), Moyses Kolesne (guitars) and Max Kolesne (drums) in 1990. The band is heavily influenced by the debut albums of Sodom, Kreator, Morbid Angel and Slayer. They released the debut full-length Black Force Domain in 1995, followed by Apocalyptic Revelation, in 1998. Krisiun signed with major label Century Media in 1999, releasing then nine studio albums. This makes Mortem Solis their 12th studio album and tenth with Century Media.

Mortem Solis

Mortem Solis which means 'death of the sun' in Latin, features 10 tracks and runs for 41 minutes. The songs are relatively short (hovering around the 4 min mark) and straightforward death metal. The one exception is the 1:30 instrumental "Dawn Sun Carnage" which  serves as an intro to "Temple of the Abattoir". This sequence is the most progressive moment on the album. The intro is clearly influenced by Brazilian rhythms. The song itself features a one-minute build up starting from clean guitars and slow tempo. Then we dive into their fast tempo and heavy patterns. But still the song features several instrumental passages and harmonies while delivering some cool grooves. An album highlight. 

In contrast most of the album is much more direct death metal. For example, the album opens with "Sworn Enemies" which brings a very modern metal vibe with it, but at its heart it's certainly still a death metal song. It is one of the shortest songs on the album with 3:45. "Serpent Messiah" was the album's first single and that was an excellent choice. It's a brutal song but featuring also good grooves and bass/guitar harmonies. "Swords into Flesh" released as the second single and video follows the same frame as the previous songs. One curiosity, maybe it's just me, but the intro riff sounds like Gamma Ray's "Land of the Free" on steroids. "War Blood Hammer" is another single and it's a voracious fast tempo song, it's even difficult to follow the lyrics video. It fits very well the lyrics about destruction. But Krisium was also able to insert some dynamics into Mortem Solis and avoid monotony, another example is "Necronomical" with a slower tempo and a lot of groove. 

The Picky Guy

If you are looking for a straightforward death metal album, there isn't much to complain here. The only problem is exactly that, there's nothing new or pushing the sound forward. So despite the small risks and variability I mentioned, it wasn't enough and Krisium mostly play very safely on their strengths. By the time we get to tracks 9 and 10 we are quite overloaded with similar songs and tempo.

Wrap Up Opinion 

Krisium has been delivering consistent and straightforward Death Metal for more than 30 years now. With their 12th studio album, they show no sings of slowing down. Quite the opposite, the album is pure high tempo death metal from start to finish with small hints of progressiveness, modern metal and groove. Is that enough to make it a memorable album? Not really, but it's high quality enough song writing, production and execution to be quite fun and to be considered a good 81/100 album. Enjoy the brutality! 

SCORE: 81/100

Genre: Death Metal

Released by Century Media Records on July 29th, 2022

Rating System

99 - 100 Perfect
94 - 98 Excellent
87 - 93 Great
82 - 86 Very Good
77 - 81 Good
66 - 76 Mixed
58 - 65 Bad

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