Moros – Cemetery Hallucinations
Release Date: 13th March 2026
Label: Strange Mono Records / Knife Hits Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Death Metal, Death Doom, Sludge.
FFO: Autopsy, Coffin, Bolt Thrower, Archgoat, Ilsa.
Review By: Malte Brigge
I’ve always found the molecular division of genres into subgenres and microgenres a laughable affair, useful though it is for defining particular sounds. At a certain point, you just need adjectives, which is why I’m bothered by the use of the word “sludge” as a genre, because it would otherwise be really useful in describing death metal that’s angrily tremming along then suddenly bogs down in six feet of mud. So I’m thankful that Philly’s Moros claim themselves as having evolved out of a sludge foundation, because, man. This music’s really sludgy. Not Acid Bathy. I mean thick, wet, mud sludge.
Take a minute to appreciate the gorgeously quirky and gruesome scene on the cover, representing Moros’ recent shift from sludge (the music, not the substance) into more deathified territory, and prepare yourself for cavernous plunges of doom between the riff ‘n’ trem attacks cratering this record. I got caught up by their tempos and time changes which seem, at first, to be fairly straightforward, but was impressed with how effectively they fill slow tempos with frenzied bacchinalia and time-lapse firebombing. I had a music teacher listen to it with me so I could confirm I heard things right, and he said, and here I quote directly, “It’s a really clever use of subdivisions.” I was like, “Hell yeah!” and then he explained what subdivisions were and confirmed I understood more or less correctly. Listen to Drowned in Decomposed Remains (68bpm) or, especially, Abnormal Profusion (64bpm and my favorite track on the album) and the way they hold onto that grotesquely slow 4/4 to fly off the handles for a while, then drop into a molassesy one-note-per-second mire, then spin around like a bolt-throwing whirlpool. It’s glorious and an absolute mess to clean up. I love it, and it makes the shifts into 6/8 or 6/4 (not always easy to tell) more effective in delivering the next jolt.
The guitars are all up front here, as thick in the ears as a blood clot in a cholesterol-soaked artery, but the drums drive the sensory overload. They’re a constant bombardment, they are a collapsing wall of angry bricks and, yes, they are trying to destroy your hearing. On first listen I was wondering if there was any bass at all until I realized it’s so goddamn massive it’s like a gigantic steamroller bearing down so big and so close you can’t see it. Occasional leads (Cemetery Hallucinations, The Pool) cut through the hull like alien saws and occasional pinch harmonics brighten the tone without being chauvinistic. Drowned in Decomposed Rains is like a thick, black rain hammering down on a black night. Consumed by Agony picks you up by the lapels, slams you against the concrete again and again, then scrapes your face across a chain-link fence for good measure
Cemetery Hallucinations channels the powerful origins of doom metal with the Sabbathy repetition of riffs and mid-point turnarounds, but doesn’t make you travel the distance so much doom demands for a payoff. The whole album is only thirty-seven minutes, the longest song (Drowned in Decomposed Remains, perhaps the most Sabbath-esque song of the album) reaching a zaftig 5:37, and the best songs, closing out the album, barely scratch the four-minute mark. There’s nothing quite as satisfying as thick death metal with doom abrasions that doesn’t mind just getting the job done. The klaxon alarm riff of Abnormal Profusion puts me on high alert, aided by Richter shifts and notable interplay between riff and vox. The Pool is almost groove-like in its structure, with small fragment bursts between repeated nosedives, while closer Cretin drops the vocals into a deep, deep well, rinsing their otherwise scorched-gravel approach.
Cemetery Hallucinations is pummeling and destructive like an intent war machine, cycling through open doom chords, chugging bombardments and tremolo leads, all framed by vocals hurtling like a far away monster that just noticed you. There aren’t a lot of ideas in each song, but they are effectively built and have intent. Intelligent shifts in the beat, steady rhythmic pulses, and careful pacing keep me hooked for further listens. With echoes of sludge, strong emphasis on doom, and war machine charges of death metal, Moros satisfies a lot of listening itches in one gritty little package that’s well worth your time.
(3.5 / 5)
