WRATH OF LOGARIUS (founded in 2021 as MARTYR LOGARIUS and subsequently renamed in 2023) are the first band (well, at least the first one I've consciously noticed) that claims to play “formless black metal”.
The genre designation is (as far as I know) intended to demonstrate that WRATH OF LOGARIUS don’t feel committed to the traditions/conventions/defaults of “standard” black metal. It seems to me, that this only distinguishes them from quite a bunch of other bands in that they have “formalized” this attitude by giving it special name. To ne honest, I actually prefer it when (sub-) genre designations say something about the musical style, but that may be a matter of taste, or I’m just old.

Be that as it may, we’ve got a “quasi-new” subgenre, a band named after a (by all accounts extremely nasty) enemy/boss from a Lovecraft-inspired video game and a band that got a record deal with Seasons of Mist with their very first album: My interest was piqued and the album may well be worth a “listen and write about it”.
To get straight to the point: It was actually worth it!

In a bit more detail: During the first run-through, the only adjectives I could come up with were “wild” and “weird”. I would have had difficulties describing exactly what I was listening to: it's certainly fitting that the intro is called Unfathomable and promises the listener to be “forever trapped in [ones] own nightmare”. Apart from the intro, Crown Of Mortis is for the most part of its crisp 37 minutes uncompromisingly focused on fast and heavy blast beat, with the exception of a few breathers (the interlude Crypt, and e.g. the middle section of Of The Void). The rumbling, growling and screeching of (for want of a better word) “singer” Noctifer, who often sounds “insane” in the truest sense of the word, also contributes to the fact that the album actually manages to put you under stress at first.
Instead of “Formless”, “Intense” would actually be a better description, in my opinion.

However, if you are not completely put off by the first impression, Crown Of Mortis does also offer a lot of quite interesting subtleties and surprises. The guitars are not only often impressively fast, but - despite the sometimes seemingly stupendous brutality - they also surprise with quite a variety of musically sophisticated passages. Again and again, WRATH OF LOGARIUS drift back and forth between straightforward and “normal” sounding black metal and passages that defy any genre classification, the best example of which is the aforementioned Of The Void, ultimately ending in a wild frenzy.
Long Dead The King, on the other hand, is an extremely furious but nonetheless comparatively “classic” piece, dominated by a melancholic melody and one of my favorites on the album.
Another track worth mentioning is Lurker's Tomb, a crazy rollercoaster ride between frenzied passages, bizarre guitar solos, powerful short mid-tempo passages that suddenly turn into a machinegun-like barrage of drums and, above all, the full range of Noctifer's striking voice.

Overall, this is certainly not an album for everyone, but it is extremely interesting and musically diverse. I will definitely keep an eye on WRATH OF LOGARIUS. My wish for the following albums would be that the band would concentrate a little less on pure blast beats and speed: It were the (at least in comparison) “slower” moments on Crown Of Mortis that were often more interesting than the unbridled frenzy.
Still, thumbs up and I'm looking forward to the follow-up!