Sodomisery – Mazzaroth

Mazzaroth is a sophomore release, a follow-up to 2020 debut The Great Demise, by a Swedish quartet going under the moniker of Sodomisery. Line-up consists of Harris Sopovic (vocals & guitar), Teddy Möller (guitar and choir vocals on “Demon in Heaven”), Viktor Eklund (drums) & Paul Viscolit (bass). This new nine-tracker second full-length also features guest appearance by Niklas Sandin (Katatonia) delivering choir vocals on the afore-mentioned “Demon in Heaven” song. It might not be a supergroup gathering, but there are some veterans here, and it shows in their playing.

Mazzaroth comprises nine tracks and has a full run of 35:43, with a single instrumental piece, “Ephemeral Requiem” which serves as the outro. The musical direction is headed towards the Swedish melodic death metal. Having said that, their sound is much richer than just typical Gothenburg-style melo-death. They’re expanding and enriching their original sound that combines the power and precision of death metal, as we could hear on their debut, with the frenzied and cold aggression of black metal. They’ve now added another layer to their sound, creating this dramatic and cinematic depth by including keyboards. It seems like keyboards were exactly what their debut needed.

Mazzaroth is a concept album whose theme concerns mental health in society, religion and the struggle of the each individual. This concept alone instills high-charged emotion into the album, as most of us can relate to these subjects. Esp. since it’s a conceptual story, I feel as all eight tracks (plus a grand-finale “Ephemeral Requiem”) are top-notch, but a couple really stood out for me; it’s album opener “Coming Home”, mainly due to nice orchestration and clean vocals, but also because this song embodies this new direction perfectly. Next cool track is “Master of Your Mind” – which features a spoken-word sample of what sounds like an antiquated psychotherapy passage on depression, but I also dig this track due to the lovely and catchy chorus. Finally I have to mention the unofficial closer of the album, “Demon in Heaven”, where Niklas Sandin helps out with the choral vocals. “Demon in Heaven,” utilizes the same approach as its predecessor while it also uses the symphonic elements, adding Hypocrisy-style vocals and nice driving guitar tone.

Unlike the case with 2020 debut record, Sodomisery impress me with Mazzaroth. The musical performances and their handling of the instruments was exemplary, showcasing some solid songwriting skills, tight and clean production and the cover art (including the booklet with printed lyrics) is both breathtaking and representative of their sound.

I very much like this latest opus by these Swedish newcomers (at least in this constalation), and the more melodic and versatile approach they’ve taken. Recommended for fans of Dimmu Borgir, Cradle of Filth, Amon Amarth, Dark Tranquillity, Old Man’s Child, Children of Bodom, Hypocrisy and other atmospheric and melodic black/death acts.

For further info on this particul release visit either https://testimonyrecords.bandcamp.com/ or https://sodomisery.bandcamp.com/album/sodomisery