Μνήμα (Mnima) - Disciples of Excremental Liturgies
Digging your own grave XVI: A spiritual laxative.
It took me 15 reviews, and perhaps way too much time, but at long last we’ve reached the catalyst for this entire series. It took Μνήμα 4 years of screaming out into the void, but they did kick 2022 off with their very first full-length, Disciples of Excremental Liturgies, and it’s the platonic ideal of what one would expect from someone who spent so much time and effort exploring and expanding their sound.
Before I get into the review proper, I’d like to take a moment to discuss my connection to Μνήμα prior to this series. I actually originally stumbled upon the group back in November 2024, naturally in the context of Nothing But Black Metal November, a most fitting time to listen to this sort of music, the weather getting colder and grimmer as sunlight becomes more scarce. Though I did find myself enjoying the band’s 2 records, as well as some of their early work, I found myself gravitating towards other bands, mostly classics I hadn't dedicated much time to before that. Fast-forward to November 2025, and the name springs back to mind. Finding myself in a particularly sour mood, I decided to put the debut on again. Lo and behold, I ended up spinning it obsessively, and, finding myself more interested in covering Greek bands, regardless of genre, I made the decision to cover their whole oeuvre. Each release meant I was getting closer to talking about the debut, and the idea of having to do justice to what I felt about it was daunting, to say the least. Seeing as we’ve finally reached this point, there’s no point in me doing anything but plunging right into gushing about this record.
I’ve had the album at the back of my mind as I’ve been working my way through Μνήμα’s catalogue, and seeing how they’ve developed and distilled so many aspects of their sound in a lean 35 minutes is nothing short of astounding, especially given how much they played around with it. Despite that though, it doesn’t mean that we’re short on ambition, as following the droning “The Key of 1000 Spirits” we’re thrown into the mammoth “Cosmic Lunacy”, an ambitious piece to properly kick things off with. Standing at 12 minutes, it front-loads the experience and takes us on a small odyssey, writhing between serrated guitar lines and drudging, bleak vistas. It’s more measured and deliberate in its movement compared to other long songs the band has made in the past, revisiting motifs and elaborating on them throughout its runtime, but that is more than made up for in the detail showcased here. The way the break around 3 minutes in allows for some melodic ornamentation to seep into the song, before being transposed to a more thudding and violent context is magical, and that doesn’t even cover the static-laced breakdown near the finale, or the broken lead atop of it. The jarring approach to transitions that up to now I considered a trademark of their sound isn’t as prevalent here, but their absence isn’t all that felt, owing to how smooth the move towards more thought-out songwriting is.
Despite the fact that I dedicated 239 words talking about a single song, that’s not to say that it eclipses the other 3 black metal compositions found here in terms of quality, as they’re all more than worthy of one’s attention. The title track lies on the completely opposite side of the spectrum in terms of its length and approach, screeching forth at a blistering pace, while also introducing some much needed dynamics with some sepulchral lead lines. Although the band had by this point moved away from shorter songs, their inclusion here, and the application of the care and detail found on their lengthier compositions is appreciated, as it allows them to make an impression beyond “flurry of noise”. Μνήμα’s shorter tracks have always been inconsistent when stacked up to their larger siblings, owing to their single-minded focus in providing a vicious thrashing, so having one stick to the mind for more than its original intent is a pleasant surprise.
There’s also the matter of what I consider to be the experience’s centrepiece and definitive highlight, “Νεκροσάβανο” (Burial Shroud), which takes on a more languid character as it slowly works its way through its wailing riffs, letting the bass’ discreet pulsating make itself known, a rotten heartbeat in the midst of the record. As it picks up steam though, otherworldly chanted vocals also make a brief appearance, unfortunately one of the few instances of the weirder vocalisations I’d grown accustomed to. Disciples of Excremental Liturgies marks a small regression on that front, as the main technique employed here is a cruel shriek, loud and distorted to the point where it loses any semblance of humanity and feels as if the equipment itself produces it as a result of being obliterated by the music. While it does add a lot to the album’s punishing nature, especially when coupled with the noisier production, I find my ears perking up at those diversions, short-lived as they might be.
Strange as it might sound, I’ve found a great deal of comfort in Disciples of Excremental Liturgies. It’s not a jolly work by any means, but the furious vortex of noise it creates does turn it into a lightning rod for any negativity I might have built up in me. It’s less an “I’m gonna make it through it” type of comfort album and more a “I’m going to let this drain me of any negativity I’ve built up”, for lack of a better word. It undoubtedly has the addictive traits a lot of Μνήμα’s work has had for me, but there’s an added element of catharsis to it all for me, especially as the hypnotic thrum of “Suicidal Necromancy” gives way to the solemn “Abyssal Curses”. It’s an aural and spiritual workout, made all the more important by its being the band’s first work I truly got into. It’s everything one could possibly ask of a debut full-length, the culmination of 4 years of hard labour on the band’s part conjuring up 30 minutes (intro and outro notwithstanding) of focused mayhem that doesn’t waver for a single moment. While the future of this series doubtless holds many surprises (one of which I’m itching to cover), this is my personal favourite work of theirs, and a must-listen for anyone looking to punish their eardrums, or wants to see what this project is all about.
Highlights: Cosmic Lunacy, Νεκροσάβανο
Before I get into the review proper, I’d like to take a moment to discuss my connection to Μνήμα prior to this series. I actually originally stumbled upon the group back in November 2024, naturally in the context of Nothing But Black Metal November, a most fitting time to listen to this sort of music, the weather getting colder and grimmer as sunlight becomes more scarce. Though I did find myself enjoying the band’s 2 records, as well as some of their early work, I found myself gravitating towards other bands, mostly classics I hadn't dedicated much time to before that. Fast-forward to November 2025, and the name springs back to mind. Finding myself in a particularly sour mood, I decided to put the debut on again. Lo and behold, I ended up spinning it obsessively, and, finding myself more interested in covering Greek bands, regardless of genre, I made the decision to cover their whole oeuvre. Each release meant I was getting closer to talking about the debut, and the idea of having to do justice to what I felt about it was daunting, to say the least. Seeing as we’ve finally reached this point, there’s no point in me doing anything but plunging right into gushing about this record.
I’ve had the album at the back of my mind as I’ve been working my way through Μνήμα’s catalogue, and seeing how they’ve developed and distilled so many aspects of their sound in a lean 35 minutes is nothing short of astounding, especially given how much they played around with it. Despite that though, it doesn’t mean that we’re short on ambition, as following the droning “The Key of 1000 Spirits” we’re thrown into the mammoth “Cosmic Lunacy”, an ambitious piece to properly kick things off with. Standing at 12 minutes, it front-loads the experience and takes us on a small odyssey, writhing between serrated guitar lines and drudging, bleak vistas. It’s more measured and deliberate in its movement compared to other long songs the band has made in the past, revisiting motifs and elaborating on them throughout its runtime, but that is more than made up for in the detail showcased here. The way the break around 3 minutes in allows for some melodic ornamentation to seep into the song, before being transposed to a more thudding and violent context is magical, and that doesn’t even cover the static-laced breakdown near the finale, or the broken lead atop of it. The jarring approach to transitions that up to now I considered a trademark of their sound isn’t as prevalent here, but their absence isn’t all that felt, owing to how smooth the move towards more thought-out songwriting is.
Despite the fact that I dedicated 239 words talking about a single song, that’s not to say that it eclipses the other 3 black metal compositions found here in terms of quality, as they’re all more than worthy of one’s attention. The title track lies on the completely opposite side of the spectrum in terms of its length and approach, screeching forth at a blistering pace, while also introducing some much needed dynamics with some sepulchral lead lines. Although the band had by this point moved away from shorter songs, their inclusion here, and the application of the care and detail found on their lengthier compositions is appreciated, as it allows them to make an impression beyond “flurry of noise”. Μνήμα’s shorter tracks have always been inconsistent when stacked up to their larger siblings, owing to their single-minded focus in providing a vicious thrashing, so having one stick to the mind for more than its original intent is a pleasant surprise.
There’s also the matter of what I consider to be the experience’s centrepiece and definitive highlight, “Νεκροσάβανο” (Burial Shroud), which takes on a more languid character as it slowly works its way through its wailing riffs, letting the bass’ discreet pulsating make itself known, a rotten heartbeat in the midst of the record. As it picks up steam though, otherworldly chanted vocals also make a brief appearance, unfortunately one of the few instances of the weirder vocalisations I’d grown accustomed to. Disciples of Excremental Liturgies marks a small regression on that front, as the main technique employed here is a cruel shriek, loud and distorted to the point where it loses any semblance of humanity and feels as if the equipment itself produces it as a result of being obliterated by the music. While it does add a lot to the album’s punishing nature, especially when coupled with the noisier production, I find my ears perking up at those diversions, short-lived as they might be.
Strange as it might sound, I’ve found a great deal of comfort in Disciples of Excremental Liturgies. It’s not a jolly work by any means, but the furious vortex of noise it creates does turn it into a lightning rod for any negativity I might have built up in me. It’s less an “I’m gonna make it through it” type of comfort album and more a “I’m going to let this drain me of any negativity I’ve built up”, for lack of a better word. It undoubtedly has the addictive traits a lot of Μνήμα’s work has had for me, but there’s an added element of catharsis to it all for me, especially as the hypnotic thrum of “Suicidal Necromancy” gives way to the solemn “Abyssal Curses”. It’s an aural and spiritual workout, made all the more important by its being the band’s first work I truly got into. It’s everything one could possibly ask of a debut full-length, the culmination of 4 years of hard labour on the band’s part conjuring up 30 minutes (intro and outro notwithstanding) of focused mayhem that doesn’t waver for a single moment. While the future of this series doubtless holds many surprises (one of which I’m itching to cover), this is my personal favourite work of theirs, and a must-listen for anyone looking to punish their eardrums, or wants to see what this project is all about.
Highlights: Cosmic Lunacy, Νεκροσάβανο
Rating: 90%
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