Photo by Julianna Rose
“Coward” is the latest single from California sludge/crust metal conjurors MORDEO. The devastating new track comes by way of the band’s self-titled full-length debut, set for release on March 27th through a three-way collaboration with Hypaethral Records, Forever Never Ends Records, and Shove Records.
Best described as noisy, aggravated, sludgy crust MORDEO’s sound is a violent collision of d-beat fury and suffocating sludge with walls of abrasive noise. Direct, deliberate, and relentlessly hostile, songs stretch out, twist through multiple sections, and make full use of dual guitars without losing the immediacy of hardcore aggression. MORDEO – made up of members of Amarok, Aberrance, and Level – exists to reflect the ugliness of the present moment and turn it into something communal, loud, and impossible to tune out.
While comparisons land somewhere between a d-beat–driven Full Of Hell, the bleak crust of His Hero Is Gone, the raw drive of early Black Breath, and the oppressive weight of Primitive Man, MORDEO’s identity comes from the collision of its members’ musical backgrounds. Punk and hardcore roots grind against sludge and doom sensibilities, while death metal influences add density and force. The result is music that feels both feral and deliberate – fast when it needs to cut, slow when it needs to crush.
Comments Brandon on the band’s latest single, “‘Coward’ is about the bastards that trample others to get to the top. Then once they’ve ‘made it,’ they start to feel remorse about the things they’ve done and attempt/commit suicide over their guilt. They should own up to their mistakes and deal with it, as so many of the trampled had to deal with it and continue living. Or let those who were affected by their ways be the ones to facilitate their demise.”
Adds Decibel, “The new single, ‘Coward,’ from Chico, California’s noisy crust mongers MORDEO encompasses all the ugliness this band is about. The drop-tuned guitar sound is raw and savage, the vocals equally pegging into the red, the bass is a lumbering beast and the stuttering rhythm succumbs to a staticky, noise-laden outro at the song’s conclusion… Seven more tracks of equally gnarled punishment await on the outfit’s upcoming self-titled debut.”
Stream MORDEO’s “Coward” at THIS LOCATION.
Watch MORDEO’s previously released video for first single, “Bring Back The Fear,” HERE.
Mordeo was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Chris Keene at Cutters Cathedral and features the artwork of Brian Nicolás-Espinoza.
The record will be released digitally, on limited edition CD [200 x four-panel digipak – Hypaethral exclusive] as well as vinyl in the following color variants:
Blood Red Vinyl [Hypaethral exclusive – Ltd. 100]
Brown Vinyl [Forever Never Ends exclusive – Ltd. 100]
Coke Bottle Clear Vinyl [Shove Records exclusive – Ltd.100]
Find preorders at the Hypaethral Webstore HERE, the Hypaethral Bandcamp HERE, the Shove Bandcamp HERE, and Forever Never Ends HERE.
Forged in September 2023, MORDEO came together with a simple goal: to make music that is at once ugly, confrontational, and impossible to ignore. What started as a group of seasoned players looking to create something local quickly turned into a full creative fixation. Within a year, the band had written an album’s worth of material and began unleashing their punishing live set in August 2024.
MORDEO:
Dave – drums
Jake – bass
Brandon – vocals, noise
Colby – guitar
Bryan – guitar
http://linktr.ee/mordeochico
https://www.instagram.com/mordeo.time
https://www.youtube.com/@mordeo-chico
https://www.facebook.com/mordeochico
https://linktr.ee/hypaethralrecords
https://instagram.com/hypaethralrecords
https://www.facebook.com/hypaethralrecords
https://x.com/hypaethralrecs
https://www.threads.net/@hypaethralrecords
https://bsky.app/profile/hypaethralrecords.com
https://www.instagram.com/foreverneverendsrecords
https://foreverneverends.bigcartel.com
https://foreverneverendsrecords.bandcamp.com
https://shoverec.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/SHOVE-records
https://www.instagram.com/recordsshove