Mother of Graves - The Light That Keeps Us

Mother of Graves is a melodic death/doom metal band from Indianapolis, Indiana that formed in 2019.  Their latest album, “The Light That Keeps Us,” is their third full-length album; they have also released an EP.  I’ve been following this band since that debut EP, “In Somber Dreams,” and knew they were something special.  Every album is its own reward, and each release has been better than the last.  So how does “The Light That Keeps Us” fair?  Like I said: better than the last album.  That’s saying something.  

For those unfamiliar with this band (a shame that you should rectify immediately), they play a dense but highly infectious and melancholic brand of death doom.  The suffocating riffs and rhythm is laced with melodic hooks but in a macabre, Gothic way.  It’s dark and bleak, no doubt, but there is also a resilience and, daresay, hope to be found with the band’s labyrinth of decay.  At the very least, “The Light That Keeps Us,” is a raw, honest, and heartfelt journey from a band that clearly feels what they write and play.

And we get to feel it too.  Taking on this album is to undertake a journey—maybe not one with lights along every path but that makes the moments that are illuminated all the more potent.  The songwriting is top tier so much the band never gets long in their own sound–the songs are always moving forward with purpose, and they are all catchy to a degree, especially for the style.  This is a very focused album with a tight grip on the style but that zeroed in vision allows for the band to truly explore the areas of their sound. 

So, within the 8 songs, 46-minute runtime, moments exist that are so despair-ridden that the music stands as ominous figures in the night.  At other times, it has an odd sort of serene beauty to it–a touch cold on the outside, further exploration revealing a warmness not too common with the genre.  “The Light That Keeps Us,” ebbs and flows through storm and calmness, through gentle and heavy-handed.  But, above all, it never forgets that the song comes first.

On top of it all, rests the production.  This album sounds AMAZING.  It’s handling all the emotions in all the nooks and crannies with space enough for everything to breathe but it isn’t too loose—music like this can’t be.  There is still a weight, a presence on all the songs and it can be felt.  

The album opens with “Wingless Soul,” their most urgent song yet.  It doesn’t hurt that the legendary Dan Swanö provides his vocal talents to the song—I can’t think of a better impact for an album to have than the opening song featuring his talents.  But he is there to support and certainly not the focus.  The band themselves do not need help with bringing attention to them—the melody over the lead weighted riffs will do that by themselves.  The death growls flow alongside them well, a symphony of darkness that enters and leaves clean instrumental passages that highlight how music like this can be beautiful. 

How can I not mention the title track?  Surely one of their best songs yet.  I like the sparseness of the opening; the drums scattered in the distance then the song building its layers up with bass and leads before the atmosphere drops like a cloud that has somehow gained sentience.  The drums and bass are the MVP’s here, offering their services for a rock-solid foundation for the rest of the song to grow very naturally from.  The drums are like thunder, moving the song to an overcast that brings the temp up a notch with the lead guitar offering harmonies that shine through.

“The Silent Weight of the Stars,” is another slow-moving banger.  The opening is quite vibrant with an uncommon energy. The vocals effortlessly join the mix and reveal a song that is intense without being aggressive.  I like such an idea as it makes the song seem very much an experience and feeling as opposed to something you just want to nod your head to (although you can do that too).  The grooves in the halfway mark are killer, both from the guitars and the drums.  The last minute and a half of the song is desperate and a a little maddening, with the way the instruments hang back a second before dropping, with the vocals clawing out into the night.

Now we come to “The Endless Climb,” a song so good that even if the others were not, this would still make the album worth the price of admission.  Everything about this song is epic; every note played by every instrument is perfectly placed and the vocals help tell the story so potently they are an instrument as well.  The heavier passages are, of course, great but I can’t discount the beautiful piano/bass section after the two-minute mark.  What’s really good about this song is that for every moment of quiet roaring there is a much louder presence that compliments it.  We only know of light because of the darkness—it’s a mutual force and this song harnesses that power.

Mother of Graves’ “The Light That Keeps Us,” is a relatively young band still not yet at the height of their powers.  Yet again, they surpass the bar raised for themselves and the expectations of their fans.  Their future is for the taking, and this album will help define the future.  I’m pretty sure their next album will take over the world.

Rating: Excellent