Μνήμα (Mnima) - Spectres of Oblivion EP
Digging your own grave X: The low end theory.
I like multifaceted artists. Not in the sense each release is completely divorced from what preceded it, but in the sense that I like seeing musicians try their hand at different things, either within the confines of an established sound, or going out of their comfort zone. It's one of the key reasons why Μνήμα’s work has kept me as engaged as it has over the course of the series. It’s never clear which of the two approaches they’ll take, and I love the mild apprehension I feel every time I put on a new release of theirs, and Spectres of Oblivion successfully continues this trend.
I’ve talked extensively about the punk and D-beat influences that permeate the band’s work, but it has never been as prevalent as it is here. It’s tempting to say that this EP is more punk than black metal, but it seems to exist in this nexus between the two genres, akin to the one that defined the first wave sound. The opener, “Cursing the Eternal Night” hisses and clatters out of the speakers, and it just batters you over the head from the very beginning, the chaos we’re met with is far punchier and direct than what they’ve accustomed us to thus far. The song’s rolling rhythms are an unstoppable force of nature that don’t leave much room for interpretation as to what things are going to be like. It even boasts a little “Go!” before a thundering double-bass segment near the end, and it just goes fucking hard. At that moment, I knew that this would be one of my favourites, and although I have been spinning most of the band’s releases outside of reviews, this is one that I will be looking for an excuse to listen to at any given moment.
I’d be remiss not to mention the barbaric pounding exhibited on “Decaying of Flesh”, a song where thudding bass grooves collide with sloppy, yet tightly controlled, drumming. The general prominence of the bass is novel within Μνήμα’s body of work, and it fits the pugilistic compositions, seeing as it provides a physical thrust that is generally absent from their sound. One would think that the absence of guitars would lead to a lot of the texture disappearing, but the bass is noisy enough so as to fill out the empty space, but it ultimately falls to the rhythm section to make these songs interesting, and it manages to succeed on that front. The added muscle allows for riffs to go a little bit beyond the typical black metal tropes of tremolo picking and strumming, and although those do make an appearance here, they’re not what one should focus on.
That being said, there are “subtler” moments here, at least as far as this sound would allow, as seen on “Obsolete Noise Trance”, which opens up with a brooding doom ditty, before demolishing it with pots-and-pans blasting and some righteous D-beats, as expected. Had this EP been playing by different rules, I might’ve actually been bothered by the transition, but this shit rips so hard that any return to the chaos is welcome, regardless of how abrupt it is. I will provide “Necroracle” with some leeway, seeing as it closes things in haunting fashion, but Spectres of Oblivion lives and dies by its intensity, and it’s hard to find room for such diversions within the span of 10,5 minutes. But hey, if you’re gonna chill out at any point, you might as well do it at the end.
Honestly, it’s hard to say a lot about this particular release, not because there isn’t a lot to dissect, but because of how unsubtle it is. When I tell you this is a shot of adrenaline that is equal parts raw black metal and D-beat I mean it, and there isn’t much else beyond that. The riffs bang, and that’s what counts this time around. I will admit that its brevity is as much of a bane as it is a boon, given that I find myself spinning it back-to-back on some occasions, simply because there isn’t enough of it to go around. Shakespeare might’ve written that brevity is the soul of wit, and while punk music has taken this quote to heart, I wish we could’ve prolonged things a little more than usual. Nevertheless, it has cemented itself as a pet favourite of mine, even if there are “better” releases, or at least more representative of Μνήμα as a whole. Sometimes you want something that’ll bash your head in and this fits the bill.
Highlights: Decaying of Flesh, Obsolete Noise Trance
I’ve talked extensively about the punk and D-beat influences that permeate the band’s work, but it has never been as prevalent as it is here. It’s tempting to say that this EP is more punk than black metal, but it seems to exist in this nexus between the two genres, akin to the one that defined the first wave sound. The opener, “Cursing the Eternal Night” hisses and clatters out of the speakers, and it just batters you over the head from the very beginning, the chaos we’re met with is far punchier and direct than what they’ve accustomed us to thus far. The song’s rolling rhythms are an unstoppable force of nature that don’t leave much room for interpretation as to what things are going to be like. It even boasts a little “Go!” before a thundering double-bass segment near the end, and it just goes fucking hard. At that moment, I knew that this would be one of my favourites, and although I have been spinning most of the band’s releases outside of reviews, this is one that I will be looking for an excuse to listen to at any given moment.
I’d be remiss not to mention the barbaric pounding exhibited on “Decaying of Flesh”, a song where thudding bass grooves collide with sloppy, yet tightly controlled, drumming. The general prominence of the bass is novel within Μνήμα’s body of work, and it fits the pugilistic compositions, seeing as it provides a physical thrust that is generally absent from their sound. One would think that the absence of guitars would lead to a lot of the texture disappearing, but the bass is noisy enough so as to fill out the empty space, but it ultimately falls to the rhythm section to make these songs interesting, and it manages to succeed on that front. The added muscle allows for riffs to go a little bit beyond the typical black metal tropes of tremolo picking and strumming, and although those do make an appearance here, they’re not what one should focus on.
That being said, there are “subtler” moments here, at least as far as this sound would allow, as seen on “Obsolete Noise Trance”, which opens up with a brooding doom ditty, before demolishing it with pots-and-pans blasting and some righteous D-beats, as expected. Had this EP been playing by different rules, I might’ve actually been bothered by the transition, but this shit rips so hard that any return to the chaos is welcome, regardless of how abrupt it is. I will provide “Necroracle” with some leeway, seeing as it closes things in haunting fashion, but Spectres of Oblivion lives and dies by its intensity, and it’s hard to find room for such diversions within the span of 10,5 minutes. But hey, if you’re gonna chill out at any point, you might as well do it at the end.
Honestly, it’s hard to say a lot about this particular release, not because there isn’t a lot to dissect, but because of how unsubtle it is. When I tell you this is a shot of adrenaline that is equal parts raw black metal and D-beat I mean it, and there isn’t much else beyond that. The riffs bang, and that’s what counts this time around. I will admit that its brevity is as much of a bane as it is a boon, given that I find myself spinning it back-to-back on some occasions, simply because there isn’t enough of it to go around. Shakespeare might’ve written that brevity is the soul of wit, and while punk music has taken this quote to heart, I wish we could’ve prolonged things a little more than usual. Nevertheless, it has cemented itself as a pet favourite of mine, even if there are “better” releases, or at least more representative of Μνήμα as a whole. Sometimes you want something that’ll bash your head in and this fits the bill.
Highlights: Decaying of Flesh, Obsolete Noise Trance
Rating: 85%
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