Beati Mortui - Let the Funeral Begin

It's all about ignorance. When you hear "Alternative music from Finland", you think of Nightwish. If you're smart, you might think of Niko Skorpio, Kurushio, Beyond Witchcraft, and the host of promising Black Metal bands that come from there. Some people just think of Lapland, and Santa. Idiots.

Anyway, there is actually a huge Industrial/Electro scene from Good ol' "Suomi", as the natives will call it. Beati Mortui is one such project. 'Let the Funeral Begin' is their 4th release, including the early promo work. This three piece is notorious for their love of cross-breeding classic Dark Electro with the romanticism and themes of Romanticism and Goth - at least classic Goth, when it was having its Renaissance. Beati Mortui themselves describe their music in a way that no one could possibly improve on "Combination of dark electronic atmospheres, danceable beats with diverse female vocals to express landscapes of life and the many sides of it?.

So, the latest full-length opens with "Painting", which despite the Gothic intentions of its name, starts with a blast of Electronic resonance, THEN the Piano kicks in. Nice Intro.
"Vision of Hell" (which has also been released as a single EP) is the first "proper" track on here, and it doesn't cause disappointment. The sampling is spot on; the sound is suitably harsh, with great bass, and memorable synth. The vocals are also suitably harsh, which is a big "fuck you" to those expecting a real Gothic let-down. The merge between the genres seems (at least so far) to be spot on.

"Prey" is a track that I find myself wishing I'd heard earlier in the year, as it's, to be quite frank, awesome. You can see everyone from rivet-head to old school Goth just raising an eyebrow, a horn, or heading the fuck to the nearest dancefloor when this gets played at clubs. And it does get played at clubs. Maria makes her first vocal appearance on this track, and she has a really nice voice. She also writes the lyrics, which is another reason why this band performs such a good fusion. One person for lyrics and gothic vocals, two people for synths and Electro sounds.

"Sanctimonious" IS a goth track, with lyrics like "Mirror Mirror on the Wall, Who's the fairest of them all?", and a shit load of Guitar. Good Guitar. There are even a couple of points on this album where it almost sounds unnerving, quite creepy. To be honest, I'm quite confused by this, as just when I think I get a handle on the sound and style of the music, it changes again. Take "Soulreaper" for example. It's more Electro, with Maria's best vocals yet. It's quite harsh, but is structured to also appeal to those fans of London After Midnight. All 7 of them. (Complaints to the Usual address, info@brutalresonance.com. Thanks).

The possible issue with this album is a lack of identity. Whereas there are NO poor tracks, "Let the Funeral Begin" doesn't immediately stand out, and sounds quite similar to tracks before it, it's also very repetitive. Annoyingly, just when you think that Beati Mortui sound too samey, they start introducing guitars into their work and I swear to god that "Deathrow" could be an unreleased Nightwish song. The guest vocalist even sounds like that guy who sang on "Pharaoh Sails to Orion".

Disc 2 has a shitload of remixes, including one by the aforementioned "Kurushio", and some mighty, mighty acts. C-Lekktor, Suicide Commando, etc. I'll spare you a track by track, but suffice to say, this album carries on throwing you around like a yoyo being passed between a Goth Kid, a Metalhead, a Cybergoth, and the guy in the middle wearing tweed who looks scared. I don't think Beati Mortui has conquered Finland, but certainly, they're a good band to watch. Lots of promise. Dec 28 2010