RockReviews Music Blog

NORWEGIANS RETURN WITH THEIR FIFTH ALBUM OF PROGRESSIVE, ATMOSPHERIC METAL

The region of Hedmark, in the eastern part of southern Norway, is a land of lakes and fields and dark fir forests, of golden, tranquil summers and snowy, silent winters. This landscape breeds stubborn, earthborn people. To an outsider, they may seem docile, but beneath the surface there's a will and a strength of heart that¹s just as unmovable as the hills. They will not show off, will not protest, but they will simply put their heads down and do exactly what they wanted to, in their own time and their own way.

This is the soil from which Madder Mortem springs. Both band and members are born and raised in Hedmark. The view from their rehearsal room is not concrete and streets, but fields and trees set against a quiet lake. There's nothing urban about Madder Mortem. Just like the land it stems from, the music is organic and earthy. It resounds with the sweat of hard work, and with the tongue-in-cheek view of life of those who know who they are and where they come from. It's caressing, it's chilling, it's outrageously cheeky and dead serious. It's groovy, it's melodic, it's clever and it's open-hearted, but most of all, it¹s music made for music¹s sake.