Lepra – Mortuus Morgana

Metalcatto

I was supposed to take it easy on local bands, but what can I do if they keep sending me stuff? Lepra, as the name implies, takes itself seriously. These guys clearly loved Kingdom of Heaven (yours truly has more mixed feelings about it), but considering where they come from, Mortuus Morgana should be one of those quiet, under-the-radar releases that doesn’t impress many, right? Well, to be fair, that was just me being condescending. Just because an album shows up without noise or drama doesn’t mean it can’t hit hard.

My first impression of Mortuus Morgana was a little conflicted. On one hand, it’s intriguing to see how ambitious the band is. Despite its rawness, the album doesn’t settle for being just another bootleg Spectral Wound copy. If anything, it lands somewhere between Watain and Repugnant—a strange combo I didn’t know could actually work. It’s thunderous, slightly alienating, and takes time to digest. The pacing and aggression feel like something that usually burns out fast, yet here they stretch it into long, slowly evolving tracks that take a few listens to click.

The real protagonist here is the production. It seriously sounds like they recorded this in a giant reverberant room. The chaos becomes even more overwhelming as a result, but when Lepra slows down and shifts into introspective mode, the music gains real emotional weight. Underneath the constant blasting, there are glimpses of vulnerability. The guitar solos, in particular, have personality—they don’t feel tacked on. Lepra is comfortable being itself, and that self is strange but genuine.

Finally, an awesome band picture!

That said, the production could also make you puke. There is so much reverb, it’s like listening to a Black Metal mass in an empty cathedral. I get that it’s a stylistic choice, but it made me wonder what this would sound like with a drier, more traditional approach. And that snare—man, that thing will divide the Metal community harder than the question “Who invented Death Metal?” (I say Death. Deicide wasn’t quite there yet. Fight me.) Anyway, if you want to really hear what’s going on in Mortuus Morgana, you’re gonna need a good pair of headphones. But you already own one, right? You’re into Metal.

This brief and abrasive debut shows that Lepra is a band to watch. Sure, its songwriting is a bit peculiar, but it’s refreshing to hear Black Metal that tries something different. And no, there’s absolutely no Stockholm-resident bias in this review. I don’t want our local scene to grow dominant so we can get more weight at the global Metal debate table. Of course not. But I digress—try and enjoy this Crust/Black little secret while we play our cards right up north.

Label: Black Seed Productions

Release date: July 14, 2025

Website: https://leprasweden.bandcamp.com/album/mortuus-morgana

Country: Germany

Score: 3.3/5.0