Certain names conjure up definitive first impressions. It’s not surprising to this scribe that with a moniker like Morbyda, we aren’t dealing with the commercial side of the genre on this go around. Hailing from Lepizig, Germany, they started in 2022 drawing influence from more of the New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal outfits like Skull Fist, Evil Invaders and domestic outfit Stallion – releasing their Demo(n) Tape demo in the fall of 2023. The four-piece soon evolved into more of a blackened speed metal outfit, now aligned with Dying Victims Productions for this debut album Under the Spell. Imagine a confluence of styles that are extreme on one end yet still traditional on the other end and that will give you insight into the sound and songwriting output you’ll hear from these eight tracks.
The sinister bite to the picking, chord progressions, and guitar hero-esque lead breaks from Chris and second guitarist Julez possess that slightly frenzied meets electric energy to push “Open the Gates of Fire” and “The Curse” into lands of early Tribulation meets Iron Maiden in a Mercyful Fate alleyway. The latter gains support by some equally propulsive bass lines courtesy of Antonio that ups their musicianship game a hundredfold next to the blackened roars/screams Chris consistently pulls forth from his vengeful melodies. Not all of the tempos go full throttle. During “Sacrifice”, the adventurous side of the quartet volleys between progressive parts that shift atmosphere of cold darkness and heart pounding metal to the bone elements that reach a fervent, call to response pitch next to an evil shriek that’s held out to the morgue.
Vocal effects signal opener “Evil” in its old school platform, the riffing ideal for massive windmill contortions (or audience shout-a-longs), while the opposite side of more refined point/counterpoint chord choices drawing from NWOBHM / early European influences carries the longest track “Under Her Spell” to the desired result – twisted instrumental passages keeping interest for this over six-minute-long arrangement. The tones and production values also scream pre-digital – not much seems triggered or dialed to a grid about all the instrumentation, while Chris’ vocals have the right amount of delay/reverb to accentuate his screams or unhinged normal melodies. By the time the thrash-ier closing number “Morbid Ways of Dying” finishes things off with its dual harmony lines and fiery tempo changes, most will leave the proceedings battered, bruised, and quite satisfied.
It’s not the first rodeo for these musicians – as they have other experience in groups like Indian Nightmare, Boundless Chaos, and Sintage among others. The exploration of speed metal from a traditional to blackened context makes Morbyda quite appealing based on the material for Under the Spell – the progression could be ideal to chart on future recordings.