Media

Mp3s

-'Beneath The Crust' from 'The Shades Below'

-'Worship Of Grief' from 'Alienchrist'

-'Elemental Prisms' from 'Sojourns Through The Septiac'

Band Photos

'The Shades Below' era.

'Alienchrist' era.

'Sojourns Through The Septiac' era.

Gigs flyers

Reviews

All reviews below are about 'Sojourns Through The Septiac'

VOICES FROM THE DARKSIDE:
MORBIUS, a mostly overseen US-based Death Metal act already spawned in 1990 that made its first steps within the underground scene with demo and vinyl releases until in 1994 the band’s first album “The Shades Below” was released on Last World Records. Badly promoted and marketed MORBIUS debut was a total failure on the business side and with signing to Cyber Music and releasing “Alien Christ” plus concentrating on playing shows the band finally had better chances. Five years later this album here was recorded, yet until in 2005 it never got released for various reasons which you’ll better read yourself on the MORBIUS website (please see below for the link). “Sojourns Through The Septiac” is an occult, technically complex, epic and pretty weird album. I would describe its sound as MORTAL DECAY on hallucinogens! Add to this some MACABRE-like hysterical screams, some twisted melodies, monumental, countless breaks containing song structures and you have at least an idea of what to expect of this act. “Alien Christ” was an album you could easily grasp due to its focus on mid-tempo, “Sojourns…” is not extremely fast, too, but it is simply not very accessible nor does it offer many catchy moments, it’s extreme in the way the songs are structured and regarding the dedication always present on this release. To me personally “Sojourns…” is a little too demanding at times, especially due to these horribly screechy vocals now and then. However, the normal growls of Mr. Sylvester are cool and the overall, totally abnormal sound of MORBIUS has definitely something to it which makes it fascinating and unique. So, if you like Death Metal that is beyond reason and genre conventions try out this band, these guys are “far out” if you know what I mean… take it easy on the drugs, guys!

MASTERFUL :
Older band, dating it's starting point in the early '90s, of which I have never heard before and I doubt that many of you have heard of them either. Material on "Sojourns..." was pasturizing for a cuople of years on the shelves of it's creators, because it was recorded in '99, but because of personal problems and lack of a label, these songs never saw the light of day. It wasn't a great tragedy - Morbius plays 100% old school death metal, which will even sound just as good in the next 15 years to the fanatics of old school. Therefore there is no need to think too much - if you like archaic style of playing with heavily crushing bones, low-death riffs, slow "evil" solos and bass grinding everything to small pieces, then Morbius should be on your list of interest. The production of these songs is the fundament of antique death metal - wild and crazy but yet very tight. The climate of the cover, lyrics and part of the intro might remind you a bit of Nile, but musicaly when you use your brain while listening to the album you will hear more common style of Disgrace, Asphyx, Miasma, Pessimist and other less popular bands of this style. Look for this CD in the underground labels/distributions and probably beyond the borders of our own country - I highly recommend to find this album at all costs.

HATEFUL UNDERGROUND :
This is my first encounter with the US Death Metal band Morbius who apparently have been around for 15 years now. Their third full-length Sojourns Through the Septiac was recorded already in '98/'99 and finally got released in 2005 as a split release with Italian label Storms of Steel and Non Compos Mentis from the States. This album holds inside very complex and technical, yet also brutal and chaotic Death Metal with cosmic and occult themes. No holds barred, Morbius charge forth with stop and start blasts, rapidly varying tempo changes, strange ethereal melodic leads here and there, and straightforward brutal skullcrushing parts which are great and are the thing I like about them the most, along with the clear, yet not too polished sound and the monstrous growls of the vocalist. As a minor turn-off, the complexity of the compositions is a bit too much for me though, there's too much things happening too fast, and there's also some annoying elements such as the high-pitched shrieks which remind me mostly about Cradle of Filth and sound very out of place.
So in the end, Sojourns Through the Septiac is kind of a double-edged sword for me, as I like that powerful riffing with ultra-heavy sound very much... but it's not my kind of stuff all the way. Still anyone into technical and brutal Death Metal reaching at times epic heights, should seek this one out, as Morbius are surely one of the more innovative and better bands in that vein.

BEOWOLF :
This is one Death Metal band I have been a fan of for a long time. They have really improved a lot over the years & this new disc blows all other efforts away. The music has gotten tighter, faster & all around better. I love the fast blasts mixed with the stop & start parts. There is even a bit of groove tossed into their chaotic Death Metal Mayhem. There are some really good song arrangements as well. The vocals are done in a mid ranged Death growl style. These guys are one of the better Death metal acts that has lasted through the years & they stand out a lot as not being your tipcal sounding Death metal band too! Check these guys out!!!

NIGHT RITUAL :
MORBIUS play an interesting blend of technical death metal with a touch of black metal. Also interesting is that their lyrics have to do with reincarnation.
Some parts are melodic, but there's also plenty of aggression here. I sense influences of everything from DEATH to DISSECTION. A very creative effort, this CD is limited to 1000 copies.

DIABOLICAL CONQUEST:
The presence of a guitar/drum sibling combo is usually a guarantee of utmost tidiness in metal (Psycroptic being a recent example). Morbius is no exception, the Sylvester brothers sculpting a viscous liquid array of transitions evoking a mysterious web of shadowy yet (paradoxically) radiant classic technical death metal with blackened veins. Weir puts in a forceful performance in the shadow of the main-men monolith. The vocals range from a gurgling yet intelligible Demilich/Sinister hybrid to Dani Filth shrieks and the bass is a vital link when Andy Sylvester lets his guitar breathe during mournful and elegant doomy melodic passages. Influences from older bands are discernable as fleeting impressions only. The lyrical concepts (reincarnation, mythology, astrology, occult) and sparse Eastern riffs are consistent with Nile's holistic approach. Celtic Frost, Kreator and Dissection aromas are present, the acoustic interlude in "Antimatter Initiates" walks over the grave of Tiamat's 'The Astral Sleep' and there is maybe an ethereal nod to forgotten US band Buried Beneath. Fundamentally though, this is unique, diverse and... well, Morbius. In some ways the album sounds older than its 7 year age, the Sylvesters having had some difficulty in finding a label for this release. The old-fashioned but charming synth augmentations admittedly sound dated. The production is not good enough for the music to adrenalise and as such individual riffs are hard to remember even though the album works superbly as a whole. At full pelt the clarity is lost and the slick way in which the drums alter beats upon riff repeats is muted by dull percussion sonics. However, the purpose of this album is twofold. Firstly, cult collectors and diehard fans will want to grab one of the limited 1000 pressings of this disc. Secondly (and more importantly), it assists the band's desire to find label support for their 'Trismegistus' 3-tracker from 2002. This EP is allegedly a massive improvement in all areas so I definitely hope that the Sylvesters achieve this goal and more. Morbius certainly have the capability to rival Viagra for Serpent-Raising if they can find stable backing.

ANCIENT SPIRIT:
Even if the americans MORBIUS have a 16 years (!) old bandhistory already they will probably only be known by a very few Underground Maniacs. Because just yet they seem to try with their 3rd album and the help of some distros to get a stand in Europe. If that will work out is not sure since “Sojoums Through The Septiac” (the recordings date back to 1999 by the way) sounds not easy to get access to. Technical Death Metal is the basic for very complex song structures and arrangements, where brutal blast beat parts get aerated by old school mid temp, epic elements and miscellaneous accoustic parts.
Comparisons are hard to find but the album’s feeling reminds a bit of VITAL REMAINS and really a bit of old(!) KATAKLYSM. It rows with every spin and also the somehow raw sound doesn’t bother. If you find the chance really worth a try!