GONZO’S HEAVY ROUNDUP, OCTOBER 2024

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
Nov 082024
 

(Denver-based NCS writer Gonzo brings us reviews of the following three albums released in October, just in time for gray days ahead.)

Call me a downer if you must, but I really hate theme parties.

Come to think of it, I don’t like “themed” anything. I once was dragged to an office party with a “The Office” theme (I shit you not) and it was one of the most excruciating hours of my life. This was the same job that occasionally held “ice cream socials” that consisted of nonverbal weirdos quietly grabbing a small cup, wordlessly putting a scoop of Breyer’s into it, and scampering back to their desks. (“Ice cream antisocial” might be the Anthrax and Weird Al collab we never knew we needed.)

That job, fortunately, was a long time ago, but my stance on themes remains. There’s a caveat now, though: after assembling this column, I realized that all three of the albums I used are all similarly dreary, doomy, and full of despair.

So, with this month’s roundup being perfect music to slit your wrists to, perhaps I’m not as averse to themes as I thought I was.

On that gloriously uplifting note, let’s get right into it.

Continue reading »

OUR LIST OF 2022’S MOST INFECTIOUS EXTREME METAL SONGS (PART 20): MOTHER OF GRAVES, OBSCENE, EXOCRINE

 MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2022  No Responses »
Jan 272023
 


Mother of Graves

For the 20th Part of this still-escalating list ,variety is the name of the game, because I’ve chosen three songs that don’t have much in common. I guess you could say they’re all in sub-genres of death metal, but there the connection mostly ends.

Well, not quite. I’ll mention a few more connections: The first two bands both make their homes in Indianapolis; Todd Manning reviewed both of them for us; and all three albums arrived with eye-catching cover art. Continue reading »

AN NCS INTERVIEW: MOTHER OF GRAVES

 Interviews  No Responses »
Oct 102022
 

(Indianapolis-based Mother of Graves are fast approaching the release date set by Wise Blood Records for their powerful debut album Where the Shadows Adorn, and thus the time was right for Comrade Aleks to interview members of the band, resulting in the discussion we present here.)

There aren’t many melodic death-doom bands who have gained real recognition. Swallow the Sun from Finland, Daylight Dies from the States, and October Tide from Sweden are the bigger and most influential bands in this list, though it’s easy to find many more names in different countries. Maybe it’s the “doom” tag which scares potential listeners, even though the genre is quite friendly, even for newcomers: The songs’ tempos usually vary from mid to high, soaring melodies ignite your melancholy, and expressive raging vocals are harsh usually and yet appealing in some way.

However it’s always cool to learn about new bands who are able to strike you down with their very first album. Mother of Graves from Indianapolis does it without visible strenuous effort as their forthcoming debut album Where the Shadows Adorn combines the spirit of old school melodic death-doom  and epic modern production. This release is scheduled for the 14th of October, so there’s time to prepare yourself for it while reading the interview with Chris Morrison (guitars),  Brandon Howe (vocals), and Corey Clark (bass). Continue reading »

MOTHER OF GRAVES: “WHERE THE SHADOWS ADORN”

 Album Reviews  No Responses »
Sep 232022
 

(On October 14th Wise Blood Records will release the debut album of Indianapolis-based Mother of Graves, an album mastered by Dan Swanö and with cover art by Paolo Girardi, and below you’ll find Todd Manning‘s review of this new opus.)

Mother of Graves has picked the perfect time to drop their debut full-length, Where the Shadows Adorn. First of all, anyone who heard their excellent EP, In Somber Dreams, has been dying to get their hands on more material from this great band. In addition, there is something about this particular brand of death/doom that just seems to herald the changing of the seasons. The music feels autumnal, or even winter-ish. Like black metal, this type of forlorn music feels connected to the seasons. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: MOTHER OF GRAVES, FACELESS BURIAL, SACRILEGIA, FAUSTIAN, EXORDIUM MORS

 Eye-Catchers, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  No Responses »
Aug 122022
 

 

Yesterday I took the first step in a journey of a thousand miles — an only slightly exaggerated metaphor for the task of wading through all the recent songs and videos that might yield selections for these roundups. Today, as you can see, I managed to take a second step. By rough count that leaves about 2.5 million additional steps.

I’m beginning with artwork, unaccompanied by music (the column is called “SEEN and Heard”), but then moving into some new sounds and videos (and more cool cover art).

MOTHER OF GRAVES (U.S.)

This Indiana death/doom band released their debut EP in January of last year, and Todd Manning gave it a very good review for us. He concluded by hoping that a full-length would be close at hand. The hope is now fulfilled, because Wise Blood Records will be releasing the band’s debut album Where the Shadows Adorn on October 14th. And for that album the maestro Paolo Girardi created the stunning cover art you see above.

But what you see above is only half of the full painting. Here’s the complete work: Continue reading »

MOTHER OF GRAVES: “IN SOMBER DREAMS”

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Feb 102021
 

 

(We present Todd Manning‘s review of the debut EP by the Indiana band Mother of Graves, which was released on January 8th by Wise Blood Records.)

Mother of Graves are not the first band to rise up from tragedy, but the pain and sadness on display on their debut EP, In Somber Dreams, is palpable. The formation of this band came in the wake of the death of a friend and former bandmate, and as founding guitarist Chris Morrison explains, Katatonia’s EP Sounds of Decay became a focal point for channeling his sorrow.

Mother of Graves take their moniker from a Latvian entity that functions as a protector of graves, but much of their inspiration comes from Britain, Katatonia notwithstanding. We are of course referring to the Peaceville 3, i.e., Paradise Lost, Anathema, and My Dying Bride. The early work of these three bands laid the groundwork for the marriage of the violence of Death Metal and the depressive strains of Gothic Rock, and Mother of Graves have learned their lessons well. Continue reading »