Review: Madder Mortem – Old Eyes, New Heart

Genres: progressive metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: The Gathering, Ram-Zet, Winds, In the Woods…., Oceans of Slumber
Country: Norway
Release date: 26 January 2023

Madder Mortem have never received the success they deserve, and they have such a great formula for it, too. They make prog metal that’s not too inaccessible for the anti-prog layman, and their songwriting has always erred on the more organized side of Prog-Riff-ADHD. They have their freakouts, as all prog bands do, but they’re always much more controlled than, say, The Mars Volta. Coupled with the absolutely beautiful voice of Agnete Kirkevaag and the Meshuggah-inspired riffing of BP Kirkevaag, they should be prog-metal legends by now in their long career.

Only, they’re not. Madder sit at a very uncomfortably low 5.6k listeners on Spotify (at the time of writing) despite their career spanning back to the late 90s. Part of this may have to do with an inconsistent release schedule. Their last album, Marrow, came out around the time I started college in 2018, and while it was undoubtedly fantastic, Madder got lost among all the other bands who I keep in my library—Marrow did get a fair amount of play, but all I wanted was a new album.

In a year shaping up to be certifiably insane for releases, Madder Mortem are finally back, and what a grand re-entrance they’ve given us. ‘Coming From the Dark’ is probably the best song they’ve ever written, and is shaping up to be my first Earworm of the Year (EOTY for short). It’s the perfect combination of heavy and anthemic, with an added edge of darker atmosphere that recalls Madder’s early days of doom metal. Its heaviness is perfectly coupled and juxtaposed with the smoother, jazzier ‘On Guard’, highlighting Agnete’s ridiculous vocals.

Agnete’s croons are still the band’s greatest strength, and she’s truly never sounded better. She’s been on a constant upward trajectory since Red Tooth in Claw, and this album is no different. ‘On Guard’ gives you a breather before ‘Master Tongue’ crashes in with one of Agnete’s best screams. This album has so many sing-a-long (or in some cases, scream-a-long) moments that make every song stand out as their own. The band knows how to use Agnete’s vocals to their advantage, and they’re all competent enough songwriters to know when the instrumentals need to take over. 

However, Agnete isn’t the only one who’s improved here. BP and Anders Langberg have become a force to be reckoned with on guitar, and Old Eyes sports some of their best riffs. ‘Coming from the Dark’’s disturbed, wonky melody and ‘Heavy is the Head that Wears the Crown’s switch between clean arpeggios and massive chords are only a sampler of their talent. In fact, watching Madder seemingly improve with every release has been such a joy since I found them from Red Tooth and is one of the reasons they rank among my underground favorites.

Though, I can’t sing endless praises for Old Eyes. From ‘Unity’ onward, the album suffers a slight pacing issue. None of the songs from the halfway mark are bad at all. In fact, most of them are quite good—but they just can’t compare to the quality that is the first half. Despite being just shy of fifty minutes, Old Eyes feels slightly longer than it should be. ‘Here and Now’ and ‘Things I’ll Never Do’ re-up the quality for a moment, before ‘Long Road’ kinda just…ends? I feel that the previous song should’ve closed out the album, but instead Old Eyes ends on a slightly jarring note.

Overall, I still think Marrow is just slightly better overall. However, this is by no means a slouch. Old Eyes, New Heart shows that Madder Mortem continues to improve and mature. It shows that a band this talented who have been around this long can continuously better themselves, and the album’s first half is proof of that. While the second half suffers slightly, it still blows most other prog releases out of the water. 2024 is off to a strong start.

Recommended tracks: Coming From the Dark, On Guard, Master Tongue, Heavy is the Head that Wears the Crown
You may also like: Unexpect, Sermon, Athemon
Final verdict: 8/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Metal-Archives page

Label: Dark Essence Records – Bandcamp | Facebook

Madder Mortem is:
– Agnete M. Kirkevaag (vocals)
– BP M. Kirkevaag (guitars)
– Mads Solas (drums)
– Tormod Langoien Moseng (bass)

– Anders Langberg (guitars)