MORKETIDA / GRIEVE (Satanic Warmaster, Vargrav) - Split (DIGIPAK CD)

Previously released in the spring of 2020 but only on vinyl, this split collects MORKETIDA's Traveler of the Untouched Voids EP and GRIEVE's debut self-titled EP onto CD format for the first time ever. Leading off is Traveler of the Untouched Voids, which sees MORKETIDA travel further down their own, ever-more-idiosyncratic path. Still largely downtempo but unafraid to kick into hypnotic blasting, here do they explore swampier and more eldritch terrain, heightening the beyond-the-shade atmosphere ever more through patient, plaintive melodies and more rugged expressions thereof. The organ of yore has been replaced by occasional touches of mystical synth in a most early '90s manner, while the vocals similarly plumb stouter depths. If anything, one could say that MORKETIDA are nodding more toward an ancient Eastern European expression or one less-than-tangentially removed from the contemporaneous Hellenic scene. GRIEVE’s self-titled debut EP follows. Despite its release in 2020, one could easily mistake GRIEVE's swift two-song salvo as some lost recording from the mid/late '90s, so authentic and unshakable is its swelling, mystical surge. As such, Grieve is not short on nightsky melodicism nor is it unafraid to lace those wandering-soul ruminations with subtle touches of synth. Altogether, it's a simple first statement from GRIEVE, but one nonetheless profound: the past is alive!

Now brought together onto vintage CD format, both MORKETIDA's Traveler of the Untouched Voids EP and GRIEVE's Grieve breathe new life, making for a fully satisfying 30 minutes of elite Finnish black metal!