MORTAL SIN: An Absence of Faith

Produced by Phil McKellar

Released: 2007

An absence of faith is probably a good way to describe my attitude toward Mortal Sin when they first got back together – yet again – a few years back. But after seeing them live a few times to find them better than they ever were, my belief was rekindled. After just one spin of this corker I was almost as ready as I was back in 1986 to shout their praises from the rooftops.

You can usually tell how good an album is going to be from the very first moment. “Out of Darkness” immediately proclaims An Absence of Faith to be a really good album. It has both raw melodic catchiness and a driving groove, thus combining the band’s archetypal sound with a modern feel. When it comes to classic bands, only the best can try this and pull it off without looking like has-beens. Mortal Sin nails it time and again with a virtually endless procession of hook-laden riffs, sustained dual-guitar interplay and memorable choruses. One of the most pleasing aspects of An Absence of Faith is that Mat Maurer’s vocal delivery has developed a well-apparent depth and diversity. Similarly, his lyric-writing has also matured, making his pointed political statements far more barbed.

“Deadman Walking”, “Before the Bough Breaks” and “Rise or Fall” are all deadset rippers, paying obvious respect to the band’s origins but without sounding dated. The epic “Tears of Redemption” is the obvious centerpiece, acting both as sequel and update to “Lebanon” and a tribute to Mayhemic Destruction. This is, however, the track I like the least as it sounds like the band is trying just a little too hard. Maurer throws in an entire verse that strings together titles from the first album and the chorus with its "I refuse to be a Muslim" refrain just didn't work for me. “My Nightmare” and “Say Your Prayers” also prove that they can’t all be gems, but the great moments far outweigh the lesser ones. “Eye in the Sky” and “Broken Promises” round out the album just as well as the early tracks begin it, with darting solos from Nathan Shea and Mick Sultana and rumbling drums from Luke Cook, combined with more of Maurer’s topical observations.

If you aren’t banging your head within fifteen seconds of this album kicking in, and keeping it up for most of the next 48 minutes, you simply don’t deserve to live.

1. Out of the Darkness
2. Deadman Walking
3. Tears of Redemption
4. Before the Bough Breaks
5. Rise or Fall
6. My Nightmare
7. Say Your Prayers
8. Lost Within
9. Eye in the Sky
10. Broken Promises

Rating: 85%

MORTAL SIN: Face of Despair

Produced by Randy Burns

Released: 1989

Recorded in early 1988 but unreleased for almost a year, Face of Despair was the difficult follow-up to Mortal Sin's debut, an album that probably surprised all but the band themselves when it won strong accolades throughout the metal world in mid-87. Ultimately, however, this was doomed to disappoint, for almost exactly the opposite reason the previous album had been such a success.

With a budget and a producer (Randy Burns, who had previously worked with Anthrax), Mortal Sin should have been able to develop their songs and ideas further than the ridiculous constraints placed on them before allowed, but as the last track's transparently throwaway nature would prove, for some reason the ideas just didn't seem to be there. Whereas the first Mortal Sin album had been memorably catchy, Face of Despair simply wasn't. Indeed, while I could still find Mayhemic Destruction songs like "Blood, Death, Hatred" or "Liar" bouncing around in my head hours after I heard them, virtually the entire second half of Face of Despair is almost immediately forgettable.

What this album does have, however, is a killer trio of opening cuts. "I Am Immortal" begins this veritable thrash feast and silly lyrics notwithstanding ("the master will scorn you, he'll even forlorn you" ...Huh?), the riffs Paul Carwana and Mick Burke weave together here are just 100% classic thrash. That's nothing, however, because what they come up with in "Voyage of the Disturbed" is little short of genius. This could well be one of the best thrash songs of all time, and Carwana's solo here is just perfectly fitting to the subject matter. Next track "The Infantry Corps" is also a clear album highlight even if it doesn't quite hold up to the one before it, but "Voyage of the Disturbed" is such a great song that it's hardly surprising.

From that point on, Face of Despair starts to fall away. "For Richer, for Poorer" is OK but suffers from the lack of a solid hook. "Martyrs of Eternity" is somewhat better without really being in the same ballpark as the first three songs, but everything after that is merely ordinary. Three songs is hardly enough to carry an entire album, even if one of them is as good as "Voyage of the Disturbed", and one could even suggest this is partly why the label dithered for so long before releasing it. One could also do much worse, however; in any case, this is almost worth getting just for the second track alone.

1. I am Immortal


2. Voyage of the Disturbed


3. The Infantry Corps


4. For Richer, For Poorer


5. Martyrs of Eternity


6. Innocent Torture


7. Suspended Animation


8. "H"


9. Terminal Reward


10. Robbie Soles

Rating: 62%

MORTAL SIN: Mayhemic Destruction

Produced by John Darwich and Mortal Sin

Released: 1987

In 1987, even the name Metallica was practically unknown outside of a hardcore cult following in this country. Few people then could have possibly conceived of a Sydney band recording an album of primeval thrash metal that would bring them notice throughout the world. Mortal Sin had only played live six times when they went in to record this album in July 1986. Released six months later, Mayhemic Destruction captures the essence of the embryonic Australian thrash metal scene in its minimalist production values and the immediacy of its delivery. As Australia's first major metal release, this album is as important today as it was when it first appeared.

At times lyrically awkward and with a somewhat thin guitar sound, there's no denying that despite this Mayhemic Destruction can still be held up as a minor thrash classic. Taking their cues from both the Bay Area and the German schools of thrash, Mortal Sin came up with something that wasn't particularly original but was easily on par with anything being produced elsewhere. The epic, Metallica-inspired "Lebanon" towers over the rest of the tracks, with only the Kreator-style title track really coming close, but it's hard to call any of the songs duds. For the most part, the lyrics are throwaway and often forced ("Stay down there with all your mates and lie yourself to death" runs one line from 'Liar') and Matt Maurer's nasally vocals a tad monotonous, but all of the songs are infectiously catchy and memorable enough that even after barely hearing them in 15 years, they came back to me while I was merely reading the lyric sheet. Had Mortal Sin let some of these tracks mature a little more before they were recorded, they could have been better still, but the most interesting thing of all is that Mayhemic Destruction was originally designed only as a demo. With that in mind, it's actually quite staggering to think how powerful and crushing these songs would have sounded with a decent production job.

1. The Curse


2. Women in Leather


3. Lebanon


4. Liar


5. Blood, Death, Hatred,


6. Mortal Slaughter


7. Into the Fire


8. Mayhemic Destruction

Rating: 78%