Mortal had maybe two good industrial flavored albums before they went alternative (hate when that happens). Fathom, the band's second release, comes off as heavier and much more layered in many places, and lush and haunting in other places. In other words, a better release than Lusis, and that was a pretty good album. "Alive And Awake" kicks off the CD, a good industrial rock track. "Neplusultra" is heavier than the previous. "Rift", however, is my favorite track. It's haunting, freaky, lush and rough all at the same time. I own the video to this song, which just adds to my total awe of the piece. "Jil Sent Me" is really a violin-driven ballad, and one I usually skip over. "Ex-Nihlo" and "Above And Beyond" are cool; "Rainlight" is a bit weird and...soft. "Bright Wings" has a techno-driven goth flavor to it that appeals to me. "XiX", "Electrify", and "Godspeed" round out the album. There is a hidden track after "Godspeed" that starts off "Welcome to track seven", which would probably explain why the actual track 7 is blank. It's just a techno shout-out session with the band, nothing too important but fun none the less. Very good industrial rock, like I said before.
8/10
Other coverage for this album
Heaven's Metal #40Reviewed by Doug Van PeltFormula for reviewing new Mortal album: See band live the night before; hook up portable CD player to car cassette deck and run errands at full volume. Alive And Awake gets things going on this album with tons of energy, intensity and aggression. This song is incredible. The riff just plain shreds. Ow! I almost rear-ended another car during the next track, Neplusultra, which features The…Similar sounding releases
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