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Ah, when it comes to the early history of pure Heavy Rock, it is always Black Sabbath's name that seems to send euphoric thrills over people's necks. Sabbath's heavy, organic and mystic sound had an evil magnetism to it that appealed to many of us who wanted to rebel against the commonly accepted norms of society, back in the day. Growing long hair and listening to dark-tinged Heavy Rock were just the thing.

40 years and more have passed and the influence of Black Sabbath can still be found in the sounds of many new acts formed since Sabbath first appeared on the face of the Earth. One of those bands is a 4-piece called Mortalicum, hailing from Sundsvall, Sweden. They have really done their homework and come up with a darker and more occult kind of 70s Hard Rock. The old, evil spirit of Black Sabbath shines through this Swedish act beautifully. Their relaxed and rockin' Metal may also draw comparisons with bands like Saint Vitus, Count Raven, The Obsessed and the like. Mortalicum's second full-length release, The Endtime Prophecy, has a most traditional and classic Heavy Rock sound with a light Doom Metal twist. Despite the heavy lyrical themes the overall feel of The Endtime Prophecy is somewhat uplifting and cheerful, a welcome contrast to the darker topics they sing about. The music is mostly up-tempo and vocalist Henrik is an amazing singer, definitely on par with, let's say, Dan "Fodde" Fondelius of Count Raven and Eric Wagner of Trouble. He simply delivers.

Swedes keep amazing us all the time with their traditions for the heavier music of today. Ghost, Portrait, Graveyard, In Solitude, etc. and now, Mortalicum, all have left a deep imprint of the map of quality Swedish Metal. Perhaps The Endtime Prophecy won't be considered a classic Swedish Heavy Rock album, but it is a damn fine, timeless-sounding record nonetheless. Highly enjoyable.