Morne play atmospheric doom, not too dissimilar in style to Downfall Of Gaia, for lack of a better way to describe it. From the moment Shadows (Profound Lore) starts playing, an irresistibly thick guitar tone washes over the listener. The pacing is hypnotically consistent, and perfect for headbanging to. That isn’t to say that the album lacks variety when it comes to tempo changes though. The main riff on ‘Coming of Winter’ gallops along, whereas the opening of the final track, ‘Throes’ exhibits more of a droning ambience.
The album flows together as a cohesive whole, the drones at the end of ‘Coming Of Winter’ serve as the intro for ‘The Distance’, probably the best track on the album. Being the longest track, it builds steadily. Slow, deliberate drum beats pound over simple, clean guitar melodies, building tension. When the distortion kicks back in, the impact of the sludgy guitar tone is really felt. The simple, clean melody becomes an aching, mournful lead guitar line. The melody is more reminiscent of traditional doom metal as opposed to post-metal, but it makes for a welcome contrast. The sludgy riffs return at about 7 minutes into the song. The transition from one mood to the other feels perfectly natural, the variety of the track more than justifies it’s runtime. The highlight of the track though, comes from the solo at the end, again giving the idea that Morne are unafraid to take inspiration from more traditional doom, as well as their post-metal orientated peers.
The rest of the album follows a similar fashion to the first two tracks, but never quite reaches the highs that they exhibit. That’s not to say that the rest of the album isn’t enjoyable, just that it doesn’t offer much in the way of surprises. The only real complaint about the album would be that the vocals get a bit monotonous. Whilst they suit the style of the music well, the lack of variety makes them the weak link here. Especially when compared to other albums in the genre this year, such as Mouth Of The Architect’s Dawning, where the diversity in the vocals was a definite highlight of the album.
Overall, whilst the album is certainly good, it doesn’t really offer much to distinguish it from other albums in the style, aside from the more noticeable influence of traditional doom on ‘The Distance’. However, the riffs are good, and the album sounds massive, so there should be plenty to enjoy here for fans of the genre.
7/10
Tom Saunders