Morthem Vlade Art - Autopsy mp3

It really is extraordinary how the influence of one band can continue to
emerge through the releases of other bands, and in unexpected ways, which
concentrates the focus on what might have happened. The band in question is,
as you might expect, Christian Death, and the influence here clearly
pinpoints it as coming from their most epic force, Only Theater Of Pain.
There has never been any attempt by Morthem Vlade Art to refuter the
suggestion because it obviously meant something to them at the time, and as
the album came out on a French label it isn¹t that difficult to imagine
shockwaves thudding into the willing and able underground ranks of French
musicians back then.

It is funny picking your way through this retrospective CD, containing the
work originally released on cassette albums during the 90's, to hear how
their work sounded then, when they now have such an artistic 80's sound
(the decade overall having quite a wow factor for them), but where once they
burned like a violent fuse now they have an art-installation aura about
them.

The 90's was the era when Industrial music reinvented itself, from the
cathartic origins of often quite horrendous noise, into something which
managed to house both soundtrack music of varying hues, and less Neanderthal
rock inclinations. It also attracted a lot of indie artists who simply
didn't favour the verse/chorus approach, and so "Ceremony"kicks off with a
suitably disquieting soundscape with consciously shadowy, wordy vocals, and
then keeps the same doomy vocal presence during "Inferno Psalms"but
introduces attractive, undemonstrative bass, and displays gentle orchestral
order in the music to offset any bleak extremes. The Goth relevance leaps
out of "Wine Of Rose"with a real Rozz delivery, and some compelling guitar
phases, winds down into noise, like a Goth-Indie amalgamation, rips it all
up again, and the ebbs away strangely. "Museum Party"contains the same
climactic angst, with lighter rhythmic sentiments, before we plunge into the
pointless noises of "Vluneskudothey"¹.

"Occident Genocide"is conventionally arty, as the title suggests and as
with many songs here the real strength of the piece isn¹t emphasised by any
instruments or vocals, because the sound is an ensemble piece, and fairly
compressed. Instead of sumptuous detail, it¹s all flat and wriggling.
"Ectoplasm Part I and II"is drifting calamity and a sonorous lament, before
"Louis-James Day"introduces seriously pretty synth and allows a glimpse of
what they would become; still Rozzy, but becoming fluid and open. "Obsessis
A Daemonio"is eerily muffled, and all tension is gone, "The Day Of Karlls
Death"sees the music floating but in a simpler and more direct fashion, as
the layers fall away, and in "Venomous Sin"a medieval twinge gives way to a
really romping rhythm which should have been fantastic but because they¹ve
gone for such a band sound it simple becomes great sludge.

"The Ravenous Wolves"is an increasingly majestic, portentous noisework,
"Spirits"shows how the indie elements won through, with a bubbling
concoction of synth , rhythm and solemn vocals, and then you get two extra
tracks, "Endless Dream"being piointless and empty, and "The Worm"taking us
back to gargling Goth¹, so it's an interesting snapshot of the 90¹s but in
how someone chose to reinvent the 80's!

They're a weird band in many respects and this fascinating album maintains
their record and reputation.
MICK MERCER (UK)

This is the new MVA album. This is not the new MVA album. What gives??
Okay, before you go mad with confusion, what we have here in Autopsy' is a collection of MVA's early work - 1995 to 1998.
It's worth noting this small but important fact because the tunes on here bear little in the way of the hallmark MVA sound of late. This is a much colder and aggressive MVA sound, and is easy to catch the unwary listener out if you think this is new material.
The songs are all male vocal fronted, and the vocals are, as already mentioned, much harsher, with a chilling edge to them.
The Bowie-esque vocals are non-existent, and I'd even liken this to some early Bauhaus, so haunting and twisted are the tunes. The music is guitar based, riddled with keyboards and drumming, accompanying a throbbing bass line in some places.
This fifteen track album brings us tracks from their early works such as 'Order of the Fly, 'Azazel' and 'Allegory of Putrefacation', and will no doubt be welcomed by completeists who have been after MVA's early material.
So what of the sound? Well, in my mind, this can best be likened to a twisting mass of disjointed music, that gets inside every crevice inside your mind - this is oh so reminiscent of the dark and smoky days of my early Goth years. Tracks such as 'Museum Party' would be great to be out of your mind and wrecking around on a dance floor to. This theme is carried out mostly, throughout the release, and this gives each track an almost theatrical presence, so reminiscent of the early Goth scene.
Interspersed between these frantic bouts of activity, are some truly dark and melodic numbers - 'Ectoplasm pt I & II' reminds me of walking through a graveyard on a foggy morning.
This formula continues throughout the album, and works well, as it gives the listener plenty to listen to without getting bored. A lot of thought went into this release.
The track that stands out for us is 'Venemous Sin' - a throbbing guitar based powerhouse of a track, and one certainly able to fill a dance floor today!
After listening to this album, two thoughts spring to mind: 1) It's oh so easy to see how MVA attracted the attention of the music scene. The obvious talent behind the music is highly evident here. 2) How did their sound change so much - it's very difficult to link the band on this album, to the band producing their current material. This is chalk and cheese, Ying and Yang. The thing is, we like both. Existing fans of MVA should get this and see the 'other side' to a band so rich in talent, while people into the old school sound
of Goth should give this a listen as well. You won't be disappointed.
HARD WIRED (UK, Keith Elcombe)