Review: “Great Black Earth” by Mortuary

Here begins a very short and yet sickly sweet history lesson. Back in 1989 the merging of two projects in Pestilence and Butchery led to the formation of the now legendary Mexican Death Thrash purveyors Mortuary, a band who would go on to open for Slayer in Mexico City in 1994. They were on the crest of a tidal wave with a pair of critically acclaimed albums in 1990’s “Blackened Images” and 1995’s “Shine at the End” before things started to crumble, line up changes being their achilles heel. A brief return in 2025 was short-lived but since 2008 they have been active, building a new line up around sole original member and lead guitarist Alberto Martinez. In 2012 they gave us EP “Death Won’t Leave the Throne“, continuing their rich history of thoughts on death and the afterlife with musings on anti-religious rhetoric. However, more line up changes would follow, rhythm guitarist Juan Ramos (Abyss of Perdition, Frimost) the only addition to remain beside Martinez. In 2019 the anonymous figure of vocalist and bassist Coke DeadMan joined the ranks, Black Metal drummer Armando Villarreal Rivera aka Mando Opposus (Precaria, Alpha Hydrae) doing likewise in 2021. In September of that year the completed line up continued the bands legacy of pure evil and relentless torment in devastating fashion with single “Holy War” before all fell silent once more…

…until now. How long EP “Great Black Earth” has been around for seems to be something of a mystery however the fact that we have new material from Mortuary thirty six years after their inception feels like a miracle. Some will of course argue that their glory years are behind them, the tragic passing of original vocalist and bassist Joel Eugenio Alanis Zamora in 2018 casting a shadow. However life goes on and there is no reason why Mortuary shouldn’t celebrate their glorious past in the here and now with a new line up and if they can demonstrate with this new material that they’re better than simply a nostalgia act then kudos to them.

The record begins with “Holy War” as the quartet return with the thump of a building site wrecking ball, restless and relentless Black Metal drumming injecting fresh life the Death Thrash riffs and throat splitting vocals. Dark, oppressive and razor sharp, against all the odds, the cut manages to sound both old school and fresh, the frantic and frenetic leads from Alberto Martinez a timely reminder of what he’s truly capable of. The air of Slayer or even early Sepultura about the main riff is undeniable but that doesn’t stop it from being a barbed and vicious little ditty that everyone can enjoy.

Slowing things down, the bell tolls for dead as the ominous “Cut Their Heads” takes shape, the sinister introduction making way for galloping drum patterns with bursts of blast beats and menacing helter skelter riffs. There is a glorious schizophrenic quality to the vocal performance and lyrical narrative at times, the sounds of a thunderstorm washing the blood away the perfect ending to a savage, rage fuelled anthem. Curiously it doesn’t sound like it was recorded in the same sessions as the opening track or perhaps not mixed and mastered by the same engineer, not that it makes all that much difference in the end but it does fuel the speculation on time lines for long term, die hard fans.

Offering more food for thought title track “Great Black Earth” has similarly styled lead parts to opening cut “Holy War“, the barbed Death Thrash riffs and raspy dry throated vocals making this one sound like some kind of occult ritual. Those leads are far from conventional but they are fearfully addictive so be warned because Mortuary are coming for your cranium. The later soloing is seriously flamboyant with early Max Cavalera styled vocals adding another dimension before “Black Superstition” appears on the horizon. A blistering finale of the highest order it surpasses the quality of the earlier tracks, hitting like a battle scarred warrior with a blood-lust. There are even almost tribal drum fills which are insanely fun, before the face melting solo into the final third which is utter madness. If you wanted evidence that form is temporary and class is permanent then it’s right here. The boys aren’t back in town. The four horsemen of the apocalypse have come to play [9/10]

Track Listing

1. Holy War
2. Cut Their Heads
3. Great Black Earth
4. Black Superstition

“Great Black Earth” by Mortuary is out 24th April 2026 via Horror Pain Gore Death Productions and is available over at bandcamp