Mother Of Graves is a melodic death/doom band from Indianapolis, Indiana who formed in 2019. “The Periapt of Absence,” is their second full-length album; they have also released an EP.
Mother Of Graves’ previous album, “Where Shadows Adorn,” was a fantastic album that found itself among the best of the year 2022. I can firmly say that “The Periapt of Absence,” is even better and will also find its place on many year end lists.
Instead of falling into a sophomore slump, the band has managed to craft an album that both hones their sound while expanding it. The songs are the heaviest they have done yet they are also their most dynamic. This album is exactly how a band should follow up a well received debut!
The album is, of course, heavy as a coffin filled with lead. For all their melodic and atmospheric leanings, they are still much darker and more intense than so many other bands out there who do the same style. It’s an interesting combination; the songs are so goddamn bleak but catchy, engaging, and I could not get them out of my head (although I didn’t want them to leave anyway).
The production isn’t quite as loud this time around and I think it helps their sound; dark but subtle in ways that allows the details of their music to be explored without anything being overbearing. This album can be enjoyed on a piecemeal basis but works just as well as a straight play through; its 8 song, 45 minute runtime is the perfect length.
The guitars are sweltering but, of course, offer plenty of melodic moments as well. They are oftentimes, as is the album as a whole, Gothic as well so even at their most intense, everything still has a sort of refined artistry to it. They might be under the death metal umbrella, but they aren’t the type of band that only wants to push through and be done. These songs have been carefully crafted and each one takes its time introducing its often subtle layers.
There is a lot of breathing room in the songs, too. Although none of them are overly long, they aren’t short either. The structures are built in a way to let the songs unfurl in a very natural way, offering a lot of room for each instrument to cast its own shadow and add their vision to the songs.
The album opens with “Gallows,” and it immediately intertwines doom, melody, and a powerful rhythm section. It’s very moving and emotional, in a way that only doom metal can offer. The band settles into a groove when the vocals kick in; Brandon gives a huge performance here, and the album as a whole, that further cements the fact he is one of the best vocalists in modern doom. His growls/screams are just simply perfect.
Around the halfway mark, clean tones thrive among liminal spaces as the song takes a deeply introspective route that is, in its own way, just as intense as the minutes that lead up to it. It builds back up smoothly, in large part because of the bass guitar.
“A Scarlet Threnody,” has become one of my favorite songs in the final half of the year. Everything about it is perfect. The gentle and lush ambient tones present a thoughtful intro as the instruments swirl together. The floodgates open at the 2:40 mark, death doom flowing out, casting its shadows out over the song’s world. It’s slow, low, and exactly what I want in a doom song. The ending is beautiful, a brief section of clean tones before ending in death/doom.
The title track offers a lot of layers, elements stacking on top of each other, always building towards a great whole. I love the drumming across the song as well, it's interesting and makes sense at every turn. There isn’t one instrument on the song that takes center stage–each of them meld in expertly. It’s a wall of sound with a beat.
The final song is “Like Darkness To A Dying Flame,” and it is one of the best songs the band has done so far. The build up is fantastic—it’s slow but there is a certain energy of anticipation. It pays off when the drums come in, hitting hard and pushing the song forward. Keys blanket the background, accenting the riffs that drop around the 1:30 mark. The music alternates between riffs, varying tempos, and Gothic textures that swim inside darkly melodic waters. As the song moves towards the halfway mark, the drum and bass take over–a very well done passage! The band pulls back for a minute, offering a slightly laid back approach that grows back into oppressive death/doom.
“The Periapt Of Absence,” is an album from a band that has a lot of confidence and the abilities to back that confidence up. It’s a serious, mature effort that just goes to show how potent the doom genre can be and why we all love it. This is the next logical step for Mother Of Graves, their best release yet, and it cements their overall style while setting them up for the future.
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