The Asteroid Bullet Belt

Digging your own grave XXII: The past always catches up.  As we move towards the final stretch of Μνήμα’s discography, the frequency of releases from 2022 onwards struck me as quite peculiar, particularly in conjunction with the overall quality and emotional resonance of most of the material, splits notwithstanding. In a way, it made up for how busy 2021 was, where the overall quality of the output suffered somewhat due to the mixed nature of the splits. Less is more and all. This measured approach to their output has undoubtedly resulted in some of their best work to date, evidenced by their full lengths, Καταραμένα Λείψανα in particular being so good as to raise the same question as their better work tends to do: “where to now?”. It’s this question that Drowning in Hallucinogenic Visions  takes upon itself to answer, and it does so with a resounding “to the past”. For once, we see Μνήμα wilfully adopt an atavistic approach to their music, channeling the energy seen in their...

Digging your own grave XXI: Everything you love goes cold.  Now, I know I put this series on ice for a good bit, but let it be known it wasn’t because I found myself getting bored with it. Admittedly, covering the splits did take the wind out of my sails a little bit, but that’s only one factor that stands alongside life simply happening. Perhaps most importantly though, I found myself daunted by the prospect of covering Καταραμένα Λείψανα  (Cursed Relics). I’ve been listening to Μνήμα’s sophomore regularly for a while now, long before its time to be reviewed came, and at first contact I found myself simply enjoying the craft and the manic energy that I’ve come to expect from the band. But as I was getting progressively more immersed in its inner workings, it began to assume a different, far more prohibitive character. From the opening moments of “Cursed Relics, Cursed Soil”, the mounting tension feels far more immediate than anything a dungeon synth intro could possibly conju...

Out from the darkness and into the end times.  Much has already been written about bands who figure things out as they go. A shaky but promising first release, a minor change in sound in a spare demo or EP, and boom, a new record that showcases the direction that was previously hinted upon in a fully realised manner, which is then met with praise or derision by critics and fanbase. Tale as old as time. While there are many who are content simply refining their sound over the course of their career, I find the aforementioned approach to be far more interesting to observe as a reviewer and music fan. Really, that’s what makes Nihilism’s sophomore, Cataclysme vers l’Ascendance so fascinating to me, because not only does it give us something entirely different to what preceded it, it came about in the span of a mere two years, during which the band was radio silent. From the moment “I” breaks out, you’d almost be forgiven for thinking an entirely different band worked on this. Gone is...

Baby steps into darkness.  Though I may not have grown up here, I do consider Thessaloniki to be “my city”. Living an hour away from it, and enjoying my university years here, has led to me developing a particular connection with it, the people and its rhythms providing an air of comfort and homeliness. This extends to its vibrant underground scene, which has been sustaining itself through shows and the proliferation of local zines (shoutout to Morbid Press, if you live in the city and haven’t bought an issue yet get on with the programme). For how small the city is compared to Athens, or most big European metal capitals for that matter, it has proven to be a treasure trove for metal, with many bands cropping up on a seemingly yearly basis, some of which I’ve already covered, such as Dysnerved and Vile Extortion. Among them is Nihilism, who have elevated themselves to local hero status within the scene since their formation, opening up for a lot of big names over the past few years...

Making up for lost time.  I’ve always had a vested interest in my hobbies and obsessions being as far removed from consumerism as possible. Obviously, in the big 26, a time where capitalism’s tendrils have infiltrated every aspect of your waking (and perhaps also sleeping) life, it’s nigh-on impossible to avoid it in the things you enjoy. Everything needs to be commodified and turned into an excuse to push you towards rampant consumption and expenditure, the big festival lineups that show up across the world are very much an indication of that, even when it comes to more underground fare. Big events, stacked with bands that people are sure to want to catch live, because “How could I possibly miss out on this lineup?”, and obviously spend money on accommodation, travel expenses, and merchandise. Concert tourism. Furthermore, festivals (and bigger shows in general) stifle the connection between artist and audience, more often than not trading it for a greater spectacle. Due to that, ...

Breaking free from the depths of Tartarus.  Whenever I cover Greek bands, I tend to discuss how I’m surprised to see artists who exist beyond the confines of what one might expect of the country’s usual scenes, be they black or thrash metal. As I’ve taken it upon myself to focus primarily on releases from my home country over the past year or so, I’ve had the pleasure of stumbling upon some outliers that I don’t think I’d have found had it not been for this self-imposed limitation. DSKRTN (if anyone knows how to pronounce this, hit me up) is one such find, and arguably one of the most surprising ones thus far, as war metal hasn’t ever been a sound Greece was known for, given the country’s predilection to melancholy and arcane splendour. As you can imagine, a record as barbarous as  Cyber-Cataclysm of Nuclear Typhoeus and Entropy Beyond the Flesh Codex  wasn’t something I thought I’d find in the process of writing these reviews, but here we are. I must confess that in my f...

Digging your own grave XX: Parting ways.  It’s hard to cook up an interesting introduction to a review regarding a split. You obviously can’t hone in on a thematic thread, be it aesthetic or lyrical, and writing an introduction about each band is just not sustainable, nor does it make for engaging writing. So I’m just left staring down the barrel of what is at the time Μνήμα’s most recent split, and their last release of 2023. As we’ve already established, these particular works aren’t exactly pillars of excellence, and serve primarily as a way for the band to put out a handful of material without the need to commit to something more profound or elaborate. As such, their material in them tends to be hit-or-miss, something that is further compounded by their having to share space with other artists whom I’m not quite familiar with. Really, it puts into sharp relief why splits aren’t a popular format to cover in the Archives, despite them having their own merits. In any case, our gue...