Review: TIMŌRĀTUS – The Great Mortality
When you hear the name “TIMŌRĀTUS”, that probably brings their comedic death metal/deathcore material to mind, right? The two albums that tell a humorous ballad of a band that goes through chaos to make it to the big time? “My Life In A Mediocre Metal Band”, followed by “My Life In A Made Metal Band” tells that tale, but what if I told you this project told a very different story before they shifted gears to where they are now?
“The Great Mortality” tells the tale of a man named Kafla Selaro living during the time of the Black Plague (1346-1353). As Vision Of God Records states, it tells “his tale of loss and rejuvenation of purpose and ultimately death, but not without living a life of charity and help.”
The compilation is composed of four previously-released EPs: Black, Death (both released 2014), Doom, and Grind (both released 2015). All the tracks from those EPs were re-recorded for this compilation to tell the story in a more fluent, more complete way. Initially, all instruments and vocals were done by founding member David Napier; but upon re-recording all tracks for this compilation, additional vocals were provided by his wife Courtney.
As the names of those EPs suggest, the subgenres played on them are different every time: black metal, death metal, doom metal, and finally grindcore. In between the four EPs were also added some intermission tracks to transition from one subgenre to the next in this succession. So how would we classify this story-telling compilation? As Bilbo Baggins once said, “All of them at once, I suppose.” And the way this compilation plays was the first wave of vibes I got upon discovering TIMŌRĀTUS in late 2018. It was the first time I had ever heard such a unique sound, but that’s David for you. That’s how he jams, and he still does so as “The Party”.
“The Great Mortality” was released digitally by Vision Of God Records on May 15, 2018, and on CD by its sister label Christian Metal Underground Records on June 19, 2018. As of lately, no new physical copies have been available, but the digital version is still up and ready for your multi-genre moshing pleasure.
https://visionofgodrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-great-mortality
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