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2024 has been a boon year for death-doom releases. From all quarters, the genre is delivering some of the most engaging music of the year. One of the bands at the forefront of the current crop of death doom dealers is Indianapolis’ MOTHER OF GRAVES. The quintet created a stir with the debut Where The Shadows Adorn in 2022, so much so that they became a sought-after act to sign. Having initially worked with the excellent Wise Blood Records as a driving force and promotional stepping stone, the time was right to expand their reach. As guitarist Chris Morrison explains.
“Sean (Frasier, Wise Blood President) was all about that. We signed for the first EP and album, he wanted to be a stepping stone to get us onto a label with a wider reach.” While that may have been the outlook from the start, MOTHER OF GRAVES was not just going to jump ship to anyone. “We really took our time before moving. We had a lot of good offers but Profound Lore seemed to be the best offering, the best fit for us.”
Touching upon how they’ve created in the past. The Periapt Of Absence doesn’t differ wildly from EP In Somber Dreams nor debut Where The Shadows Adorn. “We each come to the table with different ideas, we don’t get together as such in a room and jam ideas and stuff.” With the band members being distributed over a wide area, this method of each person creating their own parts and exchanging snippets back and forth has served them well for the previous releases. However, as Chris goes onto explain, there was some variation this time around. “This one was a little bit different. There were some things we wanted to explore, we wanted to let the songs breathe more. Before we wrote and whatever came out, came out. We approached this a little more self-critical, focussing on each moment of the album.”
For those that have heard the new album, it is clear that MOTHER OF GRAVES has satisfied this mission brief to a tee. There is a wealth of melodies and harmonies to satisfy yet there is grand sense of space to the whole package that lends weight to the overall delivery. One thing to highlight, while the creation process Chris describes is not unique. The self-critical approach to writing with snippets and additions made throughout the process can lead to the music suffering from too much input. Some albums, especially within the doom genre fall foul of creative overthinking and get muddied and lost in of themselves. Thankfully, nothing like that has happened on The Periapt Of Absence. Once again, the music feels organic and accessible. This is addressed by a very simple approach from Chris’ point of view. “We want to be a catchy band. We want the songs to be ear worms, to have people come back to them and get them stuck inside your head!” One only needs to look to the single release Shatter The Visage, to understand that stance. Laced with hooks, enchanting lead melodies and big chorus like sections, it exemplifies the unforgettable appeal of MOTHER OF GRAVES.
By its very nature, death-doom is a miserable genre. It’s imagery, while powerful is often evocative of hopelessness and despair. However, the musicians who feel drawn to create within this range are not always morose. It serves as a cathartic outlet for internalised emotions, but doesn’t seek to preach nor sugar coat the big feelings of loss, or grief. MOTHER OF GRAVES as a band has its origins in grief yet as Chris laughs, “we’re not always walking around sad-sacks all day long. Whatever you’re dealing with, loss, anger or frustration, there is a way out of it and we try to put that in the songs.”
Part of what makes the new album such a stand out for the year is the production. Handled internally by guitarist Ben Sandman, he has delivered a plethora of expressive energy to these tracks and produced a highly charged album. “Ben is our engineer/producer and has done everything we’ve recorded so far! He was happy with the last album to an extent, but having lived with it he kept picking up frustrations with the completed sound. Thinking he could’ve done a better job.” Referring back to the self-critical nature of their writing, it seems this also applies to every aspect of their creative process. Going on to detail that Ben went away and developed his talents further. “He learned so much between then and now, we totally trust him with the vision.” Once again, the results speak for themselves as Chris continues. “You can hear everything on the album, warm yet clear at the same time. He’s such a perfectionist and he nailed it.” Getting right at the source is key and by going that extra mile and leaving no tonal stone unturned meant that the mastering process ran smoothly.
The Periapt Of Absence is a marker that shows how far MOTHER OF GRAVES have grown in a relatively short space of time. With an attitude of creating the best music they can within death-doom and only seeking to evolve themselves rather than re-writing the genre rule book, they’ve positioned themselves right at the forefront of their contemporaries. Yet there is an internalised humility to what they produce which allows them to remain grounded and a unified trust that each one of them will bring out the best in each other.
As for listening to the new record, while each track can be enjoyed individually it’s best enjoyed as whole. “Pull up the lyric sheet, big headphones on and experience the layers, there’s a lot of effort in there to appeal to repeat listens.”
The Periapt Of Absence is out now via Profound Lore Records.
Like MOTHER OF GRAVES on Facebook.
The post Mother Of Graves: Forging A Periapt Of Death-Doom appeared first on Distorted Sound Magazine.
