Review by Saxy S for Mors Principium Est - Darkness Invisible (2025)

I was not expecting much out of a new Mors Principium Est record in 2025. Hailing from Finland, they came out late in the 1990s as one of the premiere 2nd wave Melodic Death metal bands after the success of the Swedish neighbours. Now running on for over two decades, much like their 1st wave contemporaries, I did not know how much a band like this would be able to provide. Well colour me shocked that Darkness Invisible is one of the best melodic death metal records I've heard in 2025 so far. This band has a way to write some immensely catchy choruses alongside groovy and unique riffs. The album is heavy with its percussive blast beats and strong foundation, and while the record does feel a little padded with the symphonic inclusions, I would say most of this record's poorest sounds come by the way of messy synths that double and harmonize with the lead guitar, but their presence is muted throughout so it isn't that big of a deterrent. The individual songs all sound great, but the length of tracks like "Summoning the Dark" and "The Rivers of Avernus" feel bloated. The penultimate track, "All Life is Evil" has this doom tinged pivot, almost as if a progressive style album closer, which I'm not opposed to, but the inclusion of clean symphonic singing just felt out of place; nowhere on Darkness Invisible is the idea of death doom or clean symphonic singing even been hinted at. And so when they make their first appearance on the final moments of the record, it feels like wasted opportunity. Still, I had no idea that Mors Principium Est were still making high quality melodic death metal two decades later.

Best Songs: Venator, Monuments, Beyond The Horizon, In Sleep There is Peace