Mur – Brutalism

Mur is a very experimental as far as musical style is concerned – Since their inception five years ago the band has taken it upon themselves to fuse Hardcore together with a modern take of Black Metal. The end result (which can be heard on Murs newest album Brutalim) is dubbed Blackcore by the band and adopted by their record label as a means of describing their music.

Overall, I would agree that this is a very apt description of what Mur has created as well as what they deliver. The music is considerably fast-paced which, in turn, has led to short, but intense and powerful tracks (the 11 songs present on Brutalism average around the four minute mark, with a few noticeable exceptions) still heavily inspired by the grand distortion and wall-of-sound-like effects that the early pioneers of Second Wave Black Metal in particular did so well.

All in all this adds up to a strong energy-boost in lyrical and musical form, an interesting mix of sheer aggression and old-fashioned malevolence.

Personally, my biggest problem with releases from bands like Mur is not so much the music – There is no doubt that the band is a talented one, and they are definitely very progressive in their approach: Not two tracks on the record are similar, and the fusion between Hardcore and Black Metal ensures a rather unique baseline as well.

The problem for me in instances such as these when presented for a band like Mur is my own preference – I am a very rigid and single-minded individual, especially so when it comes to my music, meaning that for a band to truly captivate me, they will often be either one genre or another. Very rarely a mixture of one or more.

That being said, I will once again point out that Mur is a very interesting and talented band, one that I would be remiss not to recommend to any fans of Hardcore and Black Metal – Mind you, Brutalism is most likely more aimed at fans of Hardcore than traditional Black Metal. So, any fans of Anal Cunt and Napalm Death out there feeling adventurous? Mur might just be the band for you.

Below can be found a link for a single, one entitled ”Third”. I picked this one not so much because of it being the track that best represents the album (since, as I said, not two tracks are truly alike), but because I personally associated with it the most. If it sounds even remotely interesting to you, I would advise you to give the rest of the record a spin.

As an added bonus, I can reveal that Mur is comprised of former members of the bands Today is the Day, Glorior Belli, Mass Hysteria, Comity and Four Question Marks – Neither of which being bands I had ever heard of prior to today, but it does give a small insight into what the band has to offer to those in the know.

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