Review by Michael on August 26, 2024.

German death metal institution Torment Of Souls exist now for 30 years and although they already released 4 full-length albums plus two EPs they haven't gotten too much attention so far. Now, in 2024, they have released their second EP Mortuus Est I – maybe this one is a game changer for them?

Well, my first encounter with the band was at a festival almost three years ago and although I was skeptical when I read about them, I must say that I really liked what they did on stage. So, I was pretty curious about what the new EP Mortuus Est I can offer to the world. Well, the first song 'Schlachthaus' (which means “Slaughterhouse” in English) starts with some death metal riffs that would have been quite popular at the end of the 90s when Gorefest did “Erase” and stuff like that. Very hardcore influenced, so to speak. But hey, that sounds quite groovy and cool. But suddenly there comes a break in the song and it turns into a totally different direction – traditional Swedish melo-death. Together with the hateful German lyrics, it is quite an entertaining song with a lot of catchy elements. 'Aus Der Erde' is a much faster song with a lot of Swedish death metal vibes. The guitars sound a lot like old Dismember / Entombed and the drums are very pummeling and straightforward. This one is a really cool death metal killer that you won't find anything wrong with. Again the German lyrics sound pretty sick and sinister, quite matching to the topic about zombies. 'Pandemie' sounds like a homage to mid-90s Atrocity in a certain way. Especially the vocals sound like Krull on “Willenkraft” – super guttural and deep. Sometimes the drums go more into some kind of brutal death metal (concerning the pace) but then again, the song turns out super melodic with these aforementioned Swedish influences. 'Mehr Hass 2024' is a re-recording of the single from 2021 and I cannot find too many differences to that short, hateful track which is very groovy. Maybe the sound is a little bit more powerful and strong but that's all. I guess the guys just wanted to have it on that EP because back then it was just released as a digital single. The title track however is something totally different from the rest of the songs and from what the band did so far. Spoken words and a gloomy piano initiate that satanic invocation, and when it comes to the guitars and drums, they are quite dragging and dark. Apart from that Mortuus Est I is more of a repetitive chant without any bridges or breaks.

If you are interested in the German death metal scene (and German lyrics aren't a no-go for you), Torment Of Souls is worth checking because they don't sound generic or uninteresting in any way on the new EP. I hope that they will get more attention in the future because they really deserve it!

Rating: 8 out of 10