Μορμώ (Mormo) – Δυστοπία

It’s already been five years since the release of Μορμώ’s (Mormō; from Greek mythology, referring to a female demon taking the appearance of an old woman with a canine face, sent by the goddess Hecate, often identified with Lamia/ghoul) self-titled full-length debut, which firmly introduced their impressive and distinctive crust punk to the public. With members of local crust heroes Dyspnea among their ranks, the Greek outfit carved out their own striking perspective within the genre’s broad framework. Combined with their unyielding DIY stance and vision, they painted a suffocating yet profoundly real musical world. In their second album, titled Δυστοπία (“Dystopia”), Μορμώ return and trigger a small earthquake.

In just five tracks and 31 minutes, Δυστοπία is a sweeping wind that uproots everything in its path. The band manages, all at once, to become more melancholic, to experiment further, to retain the neocrust aura at their core, to broaden their sound into almost unclassifiable metal territories, and to refine their guitar alchemies. With every listen, I pause when “Στάχτη και Αλάτι” (“Ash and Salt”) begins—a track that lets a bitter, fundamental melody return like a recurring nightmare, erupting around the three-minute mark into a sorrowful crescendo.

Right from the opening “Παγανιά” (“Raid” or “Collective Hunt”), Μορμώ communicate their uniquely personal vision. The legacy of bands like From Ashes Rise, Remains of the Day, Tragedy (the track “Τραγωδία”/“Tragedy” makes the connection inevitable), Ekkaia; the dance of suffocating hymn-like leads with labyrinthine extreme-metal dissonances over crust and post-metal d-beat variations mapped by His Hero Is Gone on Monuments to Thieves; the flourishing tradition of the local scene; and, of course, the experiences and instincts of the band members themselves—all allow them to expand their musical vocabulary. There isn’t a moment on the album when a constant sense of threat isn’t transmitted, thanks also to the exceptional production. The lyrics remain sharp and allegorical, offering no breath of optimism.

The way Μορμώ tame speed, drum patterns, and chord progressions allows their demanding compositions to strike immediately, without hesitation. Every hint of melodicism in strings and vocal lines is placed with precision so that within the album’s broader frame, each track becomes its own entity. The solo in “Παγανιά,” or the passage with the unearthly screams of Ilias Apostolakis from Sun Of Nothing in “Ερινύες” (“Erinyes,” chthonic deities representing guilt and divine punishment), are only a few of the striking moments on this transcendent album. That track leads into a finale whose heart, as I perceive it, beats along dark paths reminiscent of Ved Buens Ende.

Honestly, I can’t help but applaud the flawless realization of such a holistic vision. The Greek DIY scene carries a weighty legacy of bands with their own unique sound and personality, and Δυστοπία is one of those rare cases where, without any competitive intent, one can boldly speak of one of the finest albums to emerge from this tradition. The nearly ten-minute “Βροντή” (“Thundering,” or “Awakening” in a metaphorical sense), which closes the record, fades out in a loop of drumming and disturbing guitar chords, but not before traversing swampy, fog-laden soundscapes; sounding both cursedly epic and utterly devastating.

Μορμώ release emotion not only through intention and righteous fury but also through deliberate musical choices. They do not resort to easy fireworks for aesthetic effect, they do not choose clinical sterility to condemn nihilism, and they do not recycle ideas to create uniformity. Their crust punk is deeply rooted in non-negotiable political demands, anti-capitalist ideals, and the streets, haunts, and self-organized gatherings that birthed it. As with their debut and their path so far, Μορμώ continue to draw sparks of inspiration from solidarity and disobedience, insisting on remaining fluid and evolving in an era of violent urban desolation, psychological mutilation, and social alienation. They experiment and thrive, straight outta dystopia.

The Greek version of this review is available at Rocking.gr.