After festering in their hallowed crypt for the past eight years, finally, Spawn of Possession are reborn as Retromorphosis. Once again, Jonas Bryssling and his former bandmates joined forces with ex-Obscura and Necrophagist guitarist Christian Muenzner. But in adding former Decrepit Birth drummer KC Howard, along with some old-school bells and whistles, this new band of proven players has unlocked the missing link in technical death metal’s evolutionary chain.
Psalmus Mortis comes out tomorrow, Friday, February 21 on Season of Mist. But you can hear all eight exquisitely ugly songs today by listening to the full album stream on the Season of Mist YouTube channel.
➤ Listen: https://youtu.be/sjOT-qbvIM0
➤ Pre-order & Pre-save: https://orcd.co/retromorphosispsalmusmortis
Chat with the band about their new spawn tomorrow on the Technical Death Metal subreddit.
Retromorphosis Psalmus Mortis AMA:
Friday, February 21 @ Noon Eastern Time
r/TechnicalDeathMetal
“I prefer my death metal to sound ugly and mean” axeman Jonas Bryssling says with a satisfied grin.
“There was no hesitation”, Bryssling says about respawning with his old bandmates. “I don’t have to tell them much. They know how it’s done”.
Given this band is blessed with ungodly levels of technical skill, it’s no wonder that Retromorphosis have concocted some freshly freakish experiments. Psalmus Mortis opens with spooky organ glows, tense strings and a ghostly gothic choir. “That sense of atmosphere is something that old-school bands used to have”, Bryssling remembers. “I really like that. The organ is my favorite instrument. I just kept adding it to every song”.
Evil atmosphere isn’t the only new life force on Psalmus Mortis. “Everyone knows KC Howard is an insane talent”, Bryssling says about his new drummer. Howard left his brutally precise mark on the scene when he was behind the kit for Decrepit Birth, but he’s the radioactive ooze that feeds Retromorphosis’ frenzied nucleus. His non-stop nuclear barrage drives high-flying album closer “Exalted Splendour” toward its blinding conclusion.
“We had rules in Spawn of Possession”, Bryssling explains when asked what separates Retromorphosis from his previous offspring. “Everything had to always be so intense. Retromorphosis is more free. Psalmus Mortis can be eerie, doomy or even quite simple”.
More praise for Retromorphosis
“More than worthy of the hype” – Dead Rhetoric
“You simply cannot fake this kind of authenticity” – New Noise
“If you dig death metal, you need this in your life immediately” – Blabbermouth
“…a model of how modern Death Metal bands should be” – Metal Temple
“predictably crushing…expectations are high again” – Metal Injection
“Expectations were high, but Retromorphosis have actually exceeded them” – Wonder Box Metal
“the kings are dead, long live the kings” – No Clean Singing
“…this album is no mere nostalgia trip. It’s a fresh chapter in death metal’s ongoing evolution – a grim, exhilirating, and utterly enthralling rebirth” – Antihero
