Mur/Cut The Rivers Vein/2022 Full Length Review

 

  Mur  are  a  solo  project  from  Minnesota  that has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  on  this  recording  goes  for  an  esoteric  mixture  of  black,  sludge  and  funeral  doom  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  album  "Cut  the  Rivers  Vein"  which  will  be  released  in  2022.

  Acoustic  guitars  start  off  the  album  and  also  bring  in  elements  of  folk  music  while  the  heavier  riffs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody.  Clean  vocals  can  also  be  heard  in  some  parts  of  the  recording  along  with  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  being  heavily  rooted in  funeral  doom  metal  and  capturing  the  heaviness  of  sludge  metal.

  Spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  briefly  while  most  of  the  vocals  are  high  pitched  black  metal  screams.  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  also  being  utilized  at  times  and  when  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.

  Most  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  the  music  also  mixing  in  90's  influences  with  the  more  modern  era,  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  acoustic  guitars  also  make  a  return  on  some  of  the  later  tracks  and  a  small  amount  of  tremolo  picking  can  also  be  heard  on  the  closing  track.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  heavy  while  the  lyrics  cover  Romantic-Era  ideas,  Existentialism  and  the  Apocryphal  Hellfire  of  the  writings  of  William  Blake.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  black,  sludge  and  funeral  doom  metal  with  some  elements  of  folk  music,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Lowered  Cloud"  and  "Breach  &  Bitter".  8  out  of  10.

        Bandcamp:    https://murmn.bandcamp.com/album/cut-the-rivers-vein    

             Facebook:      https://www.facebook.com/murminnesota        

Mur/Heartworn/2016 Full Length Review

  Mur  are  a  solo  project  from  Minnesota  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  plays  a  mixture  of  atmospheric  black  metal  and  funeral  doom  and this  is  a  review  of  his self  released  2016  album  "Heartworn".

  Nature  orientated  drones  start  off  the  album  and  after  a  few  seconds  the  music  brings  in  more  of  a  heavy  funeral  doom  sound  along  with  some  death  metal  growls  and  after  a  couple  of  minutes  acoustic  guitars  are  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording and  melodic  vocals  can  also  be  heard in  some songs.

  Elements  of neo  folk  and  americana  can  be  heard  in  the  acoustic  sections  while  some  of  the  heavier  riffing  brings  in  depressive  sounding  melodies  and  on  later  tracks  the  music  speeds  up  and  brings  in  blast  beats  that also  takes  the  music  into  more  of  a  raw  yet  atmospheric  black  metal  direction  and  grim  black metal  screams  are  also  utilized  quit  a  bit.

  Throughout  the  recording  there  is  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  while  also  being  very  diverse  and  having  a  great  amount  of  songs  that  sound  different  from  each  other  while  the  black  metal  side  has  more  of  an  American  and  Cascadian  feeling  and  the  fast  riffs  also  utilize  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking.

  On  this  recording  Mur  retain  a  lot  of  the  atmospheric  black  metal  elements  while  also  experimenting  more  with  funeral  doom,  folk  and  Americana  to  create  a  very  original  sounding  album,  the  production  sounds  very  powerful  for  being  a  self  released  recording  while  the  lyrics  care  a  concept  album  based  upon  the  ancient  ecological  rhythms  of  North  American  migration  and  its  related  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Mur  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  neo-folk,  funeral  doom  and  atmospheric  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Hollow  Bones  In  The  Milestone"  "Migration  Incantation  (As  Fog,  As  Gold)"  and  "Go  Beyond  The  Sea  And  Still  Bring  Light  To  the  Underworld  (You  Overrich  Star!)".  8  out  of  10.  

https://murmn.bandcamp.com/ 

Mur Interview

1.       For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the musical project?


    Well I initially started Mur as a proper musical “entity” back in the winter of 2012. At the time I was really drawn to the more honest, kind of emotionally heavy black metal being put out at the time – stuff with more emphasis on a holistic approach of hope and hate – agony and ecstasy.  I was living in a really claustrophobic studio apartment in the city, it was a long winter as usual, and I wanted to try and take that sound and infuse it with some air or negative space around the music to sort of free myself a little bit. That turned into a three-song EP that was more cynical, raw, and hateful than intended but basically came from the space my head was in all winter into spring.  That creative purge was so total that I really just let it fall by the wayside and lay dormant until more recent months when I felt the need to walk that path – again towards the end of a long Minnesota freeze.



2.       Recently you have released a new album, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recording?


    The new album, Athabasca, is definitely a more refined statement. There’s really no wasted space – every moment is the way it is to carry a specific emotional burden.  The doom, drone, and Americana flavors in the mix are also a lot more developed and accentuated and I think make more sense in this album’s context.  I wanted to really focus on quality of the sound in relation to the concept – focusing mainly on esoteric imagery or obtuse emotion rather than a certain “tone” to guide the sound that came out in the end.



3.       The lyrics on the album have a concept to them; can you tell us a little bit more about them?


    During the last year my fiancé and I have been in the process of moving out lives away from the usual life trajectory in the kind of manufactured/hollow/endlessly cyclical urban world to a more rural/agrarian one.  For a more thoughtful, real, and focused one in line with natural rhythms.  The natural landscapes and relationships in Minnesota began to feel more real and significant for me after we started the process.  I kind of rediscovered them and they moved me again and again.  I wanted them to really inform the themes in the new music but I wasn’t interested in the done-to-death typical naïve, vague, and overly romanticized notion of nature in a lot of black metal has today. 

  

  The complex ecological relationship between the Northern grey wolf (Canis lupis) and the American bison (Bison bison) is symbolic of this place and I think has a lot more personal resonance with people as a focused concept.  This specific ecology also acted like a lightning rod for the writing process – inspiring much of the album in a very short time.  The lyrics basically examine this natural niche through abstraction and minimalistic symbolism.



4.       What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Mur'?


    The name’s appearance and sound just fit the atmosphere and inform the journey.  Obscured by simplicity.



5.       With this musical project you record everything by yourself; do you feel this is a better way of achieving what you want with your musical style?


   Not necessarily, I just want to convey something very personal but also universally understood on a very primal level.  At some point when people create together or collaborate, the message usually gets completely formed over time. Compromise needs to happen between people too so I think the concepts and ideas behind the music can sometimes get watered down or changed.

  

   There’s nothing like making meaningful music with other people, and there’s also nothing like making something absolutely personal that other people connect with just as much.



6.       Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?


  Yeah I think if it was the right label I would definitely want to get together with them. And if something happened it would be great, but I‘m not really trying too hard to square that all away right now.  I’ve got a lot keeping me busy in the near future, but the music will surely keep coming and I’m open to anything that happens to cross my path.



7.       On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of black and doom metal?


    It’s been better than I could expect honestly – there’s been a lot more feedback than I thought there would be.  I’ve also been surprised as how many people have told me how much they’ve been affected by the album and how much it’s moved them down deep – a really healthy percentage of people who have bought/downloaded the release since it came out.  It’s inspiring me into working on new stuff even as we speak!



8.       Are you also involved with any other musical projects?


    Other than Mur I play guitar in Hymnal – a two piece with a drummer. It’s more in the vein of heavy, drone-influenced Americana. It’s kind of like heavier Neil Young on a Quaalude binge. A lot of tone, American melody, and cyclical progressions.



9.       Where do you see yourself heading into as a musician in the future?

   

    Continuing everything I’m currently involved with hopefully.

   

     I’m planning to do some splits with other like-minded people in the near future and probably come out with another Mur release in the next year or so – pushing that sound further as I go.



10.   What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?


   In the metal realm I was mostly influenced by certain atmospheric black metal (Drudkh, Winterfylleth, etc., lots of others), some funeral doom (Ahab, Bell Witch, Loss, etc.), and some more avant-garde/drone stuff (Blood Of The Black Owl, Botanist, Earth).



  But I’ve been listening to mostly non-metal these days and I think their influence helped add some fresh air into the mix too.  There’s a lot of music that I would call heavy without being “heavy” if you know what I mean – carrying significant emotional weight and power - American Primitivism (John Fahey, Kottke, Takoma Records in general), some modern folkie-types (Wooden Wand, Will Oldham, Smog/B. Callahan, Mount Eerie), and just some more experimental/Avant/drone stuff (Swans, Barn Owl, Brian Eno).  Lots of weird shit.



11.   What are some of your non musical interests?


   Well currently my fiancé and I are in the process of beginning some sustainable farming on a family farm in rural Minnesota and we’re also building an off-grid solar tiny home out of a Bluebird bus to be at said farm.  Basically just trying to create a lifestyle with a lot more freedom than the typical city-dweller/modern American.



12.   Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?


   A sincere thanks to everyone who’s taken an interest in this album and the music so far and thanks for the chance to talk about it – keep an eye out for more to come!

SPLIT THE GOLDEN HERD!

CULTIVATE SAVAGERY!



                                                           Cam.


FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/murminnesota

BANDCAMP:  https://murmn.bandcamp.com/album/athabasca

Mur/Athabasca/2015 Full Length Review

  Mur  are  a  solo  project  from  Minnesota  that  plays  a  mixture  of  atmospheric  black  metal,  doom  and  drone  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2015  album  "Athabasca".

  Dark  sounding  drones  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  elements  of   ambient  and experimental  music  and  you  can  also  hear  water  sound s in  the  backgrounds  at  times  and  after  a  few  minutes  a  very  dark  and  sinister  sounding  bass  guitar  starts  to  kick  in  along  with  a  great  amount  of  reverb  and  all  3  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  A  small  amount  of  clean  playing  can  be  heard  in  some  parts  of  the  songs  and  they  also  have  a  cascadian  feeling  when  they  are  utilized  while  the  bass  guitars  bring  in  elements  of  doom  and  sludge  metal  and  when  rhythm  guitars  are  finally  added  onto  the  recording  they  take  the  songs  into  more  of  a  heavier  musical  direction.

  At  times  the  clean  parts  bring  in  elements  of  American  and  folk  music  and  once  the  music  speeds  up  the  guitars  use  fast  tremolo  picking  that  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  raw  and  atmospheric  black  metal  feeling  as  well  as  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  whispers  and  once  high  pitched  screams  are  added  onto  the  recording  the  music  really  starts  displaying  more  of  a  modern  American  style  of  black  metal  while  the  music  never  forgets  its  ambient,  doom  and  drone  influences  and  there  are  also  some  growls  being  brought  in  for  a  brief  period  of  times  and  the  last  track  also  brings  in  acoustic  guitars.

  Mur  creates  a  musical  style  that  takes  the  atmospheric  and  cascadian  styles  of  black  metal  and  mixes  it  with  doom,  drone,  ambient,  and  folk  to  create  a  very  original  sounding  album,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  are  a  concept  album  based  on  the  ecological  relationship  between  the  Northern  gray  wolf  and  the  American  bison.

  In  my  opinion  Mur  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  atmospheric  black  metal,  doom  and  drone  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  solo  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Dragged  Across  The  Forest  God's  Teeth".  8  out  of  10.

 https://murmn.bandcamp.com/track/athabasca-a-calf-is-culled