Album Review: Lepra – Mortuus Morgana
Band: Lepra
Album: Mortuus Morgana
Label: Chaos Records
Release date: May 23rd, 2025
Country: Sweden
Format reviewed: High quality digital recording
Album Review: Lepra – Mortuus Morgana via Chaos Records by Ioana
I would like to start this review by stating that I have no idea why people consider this to be a death metal record. And it’s not only me talking, Metal Archives and the band themselves seem to be seriously disagreeing. But leaving that tid-bit of confusion aside, what are we looking at? To put it simply, Lepra offers us a taste of the musical lovechild of Entombed and Dissection. A brutal offering that remains shrouded in a mystical atmosphere and an unnerving vocal performance. I bet that’s enough to get you wanting to listen to Mortuus Morgana.
Now before I dive into the record itself I’d like to take a moment to talk a little about the album cover. For any history nerds out there, you’ll definitely recognize the figure as the crusader king Baldwin the Fourth, who also happens to be known for his life-long battle with leprosy, a fitting choice in relationship to the band name. More than that, the red color in which is rendered offers a more poignant starting point atmosphere wise for the record, being, at least in my humble opinion, a tad more fitting than its black and white twin used for the original release. Nevertheless, I feel like it’s worthwhile bringing up this little detail.
The EP opens up with the absolute epic that is “Where Despair Has Made Its Home”. The doomy intro riff, which seems a little reminiscent of Candlemass, soon explodes into a fast paced massacre drenched in reverb, that makes it feel as if it was being recorded in a cave. The vocals, despite also being partially obscured by the reverb, really manage to draw the listener’s attention with their whispery, eerie execution. When I talk about Dissection references, this is one of the cases where those apply. The composition overall is fairly fast paced and has a tumultuous flair that keeps the energy moving, even during the slower segments. Speaking of those, the one in the middle of the song, where everything stops and all that remains is the acoustic guitar is incredibly satisfying, mirroring the songwriting style of “The Somberlain”, a trait that becomes more and more pronounced as the song moves along. The solo of the song is yet another showstopper, that despite not being completely surprising in terms of placement, truly adds a lot to the song.
Up next there is yet another intricate piece known as “In Silence She Lay Still”. However, compared to its forerunner, this one leans much more on the Entombed side of things, with slow, grimy riffs and a heavy focus on drumming. Even during the faster segments, this aspect remains unchanged. The atmosphere, however remains just as pronounced, having an undisturbed continuity throughout the whole EP. Things take an abrupt turn around the middle of the song, when both the guitar and the drums suddenly switch to a more black metal leaning side of things. Personally I am a huge fan of this, and I love when bands play with the gray area between these two particular genres, but no one does it quite like Lepra. That one epic chorus in the track is a testament to that, and it definitely left me in awe upon the first listen. Obviously, it soon became my favourite one out of all the other tracks, it is just that good.
“Morning Mist Horizon” comes in as an ambient interlude track, that engulfs the listener into an atmosphere that I would describe as shockingly blissful. One can hear the sound of a flowing stream, birds chirping, and a calm synth line that is slowly built upon by the acoustic guitars. Even when the electric guitar intervention begins, it still doesn’t change much, and it somehow makes the whole thing even more immersive. And even after all of this, it still doesn’t feel out of place in the overall context of the EP. I guess that’s the advantage of putting out an atmosphere-based release.
The EP closes with yet another stormy opus “Endless Crimson Dawn”, that truly drives home that Dissection influence. In all seriousness, at some point I felt like I was listening to some long lost demo from the “Storm of the Light’s Bane” era. The galloping drums, accompanied by the soaring riffs and powerful vocals make it one of the most memorable songs I’ve heard in a while, and it is definitely the one that will prompt you to revisit Lepra. One of the standout moments is that lead builtup in the second half that is contrasted by the almost poetic execution of the lyrics, that is soon followed by a riff that permanently seems to be accelerating before returning at the slow pace. Not any band can pull this style of composition off, so if nothing else that I’ve mentioned so far impressed you, this particular sequence without a doubt will.
I feel like I need to stay that the sheer nostalgia this record brought me through everything that it showcases won’t allow me to be in any way objective in my analysis or rating. Nevertheless, I highly recommend you come and listen to it yourself. I’m generally rather pretentious when it comes to EP, but this one right here is absolutely fucking glorious. 10/10
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10/10 Immortal Classic
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