Mors Principium Est — Darkness Invisible

Mors Principium Est — Darkness Invisible

Out now via Perception

Finland’s Mors Principium Est are back swinging with their ninth slab of melodic death mastery, Darkness Invisible, and fuck, it’s a monster. This record isn’t just another notch in their legacy, it’s a full blown declaration that MPE still sit at the sharp end of the melodic death metal spear.

After 2022’s Liberate the Unborn Inhumanity revisited their roots, Darkness Invisible is all about moving forward, and it does so with venomous precision. Opener “Of Death” hits like a freight train, with riffs that slice like surgical steel while orchestral swells add cinematic weight. Tracks like “Venator” and “Summoning The Dark” lean into relentless aggression, while “Monuments” and “All Life Is Evil”prove just how fucking massive and atmospheric this band can sound without sacrificing bite.

The production, handled entirely in house, is sharp as hell but never sterile. That DIY edge gives the album a raw, unfiltered authenticity, and every note drips with conviction. Ville Viljanen’s vocals are nothing short of feral — his gutturals could peel paint, but he still finds space for haunting nuance, making the lyrical themes of existential dread, inner collapse, and unseen suffering hit even harder.

One of the most striking elements here is the balance, this isn’t just fast, heavy shit for the sake of brutality. The band weave in ambience, electronic textures, and melancholic harmonies, creating an atmosphere that’s as immersive as it is devastating. By the time “In Sleep There Is Peace” and “An Aria of the Damned” land, you’re neck deep in their bleak world, and you don’t want out.

Mors Principium Est have weathered every storm metal’s thrown their way, and instead of fading, they’ve evolved into something fiercer. Darkness Invisible is a fucking melodeath reckoning 👊🏽

9/10