Outlaw – Opus Mortis
Release Date: 31st October 2025
Label: AOP Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Black Metal, Melodic Black Metal, Atmospheric Black Metal.
FFO: Watain, Dissection, Mgła, Dark Funeral, Marduk, Woods of Ypres, Satyricon.
Review By: Rick Farley
São Paulo, Brazil’s Outlaw, encompasses a form a black metal that will never grow old. Darkly melodic, aggressive black metal steeped in relentless fury. Not meant to be overly symphonic, progressive, or mopey, this is purely old school nastiness that makes you bear its emotional weight through its ferocity. At times its sinister melodies burn with misery and sorrow, but the record never veers far from its cruel intensity. Icy cold Scandinavian guitar passages, blasting assaults and gloomy, ominous murkiness melded together with burning intensity and soul-stirring malevolence heavily influenced by legendary bands like Dissection, Outlaw now residing in Germany is a shot of raw, rebellious, atmospheric second wave black metal with a tinge of blackened death metal that’s built for the modern times.
The band’s new record Opus Mortis being released on October 31st via AOP Records marks their fourth full length since the duo emerged in 2015. Their debut record Path to Darkness in 2018 showed signs of a band on the path of figuring out where they stand in the grand scheme of things. Slight repetition and too much hero worship put the first couple of releases in the category of somewhat predictable and not very distinct from the pack. It wasn’t until their third release, Reaching Beyond Assiah, in 2023 that started the ascension into becoming a force to be reckoned with. Now in 2025, does Opus Mortis continue Outlaw’s upward trajectory?
Kicking off the album is a scorcher right from the get-go, Blaze of Dissolution. Melodic walls of darkened guitars and blast beats cover you in an icy cold blanket of soulfully chaotic black metal. A brief but effective lead melody lightens the mood for just a moment. Enough to catch your breath before the onslaught of hell comes. An infectious catchiness to the track becomes the ignition for its ferocity. Teetering on maliciously playful, but also extremely threatening. Relentless speed, insane drum fills and growly screechiness show you exactly what you’re here for. Viciously cold black metal with loads of nightmarish atmosphere.
A Million Midnights is a slower burning intensity as far the airiness of the stringy web of guitars, each one crawling out further in a wavy pattern. The drums however are punishing with an unquenchable appetite for the brutal. Frantically fast and powerful, the dense track is a mix of atmosphere and warring assault. It’s a rather suffocating mixture that barely allows the listener to breathe even for the slightest bit of time.
For my money, though, it’s A Subtle Intimation that really sets this record off. A short clean guitar interlude with searing tremolo picking to follow mimicking the melody while the drums blast heavily before settling on fast double bass caving in your chest plate. It’s intoxicating but extremely powerful and heavy. The vocals range from a lower coarseness to desperate rasp, which adds a lot of emotional depth. On the verge of sounding heinous, its drama unfolds in the same manner as a merciless demise at the hands of evil. Its savagery is woeful yet somehow hypnotizing. Opus Mortis is not an elegant record by any means, despite its vast atmospheric leanings, its intent is seemingly anguish.
Opus Mortis is not going to set the world on fire with its groundbreaking take on second wave black metal, but it doesn’t really need to. What it does do, it does extremely well. With plenty of their own voice guided by those that came before, Outlaw has upped their game and given us a look into what a classic black metal can sound like in modern times if done well.
(4 / 5)
