Μνήμα (Mnima) - Endless Void of Negativity Demo

Digging your own grave XXIII: Keeping the crypt half-open. 

When I started this series nearly a year ago, I was well-aware of the fact that this would be a long project, be it due to the amount of ground I had to cover, or because of external factors. But at no point did I expect there to be new material coming out as I was going through Μνήμα’s backlog. Six reviews into this series though (time sure flies), we were surprised with their first – taxonomically speaking – demo in five years, Endless Void of Negativity. It’s been their only release thus far in 2026, and their first one that I’ve been around to experience when it came out, and as such I’ve been itching to cover it for the past few months, despite its brevity.

The title track wastes no time making its intentions known, as some brief belches are vomited out before we’re dropped into some of their roughest sounding production since The Superior Poisoner of Time, albeit this time with much more dynamic songwriting underneath all the layers of noise. For all the static and noise inherent to most of their recordings, Μνήμα’s compositions have always been quite layered, their intricacies and melodic details revealing themselves only to the more attentive listeners, and things are no different here. Serrated tremolo riffs collapse into grim, chiming notes, which are just as suddenly escalated to a higher velocity by way of thunderous drumming, with the occasional wailing guitar lick slithering in the murk. It’s the more immediate of the two tracks presented here, and its immediacy and morbidity endemic to the band’s music lend a sense of familiarity to the proceedings, all without feeling redundant. 

The real highlight of the demo though is “Βρόχος Σκέψεων” (Thought Noose), a potential indicator of what the future holds in terms of songwriting and sonic aesthetics. Just shy of 7 minutes, the song kicks off with more exuberant vocals than the groans  and growls found on the preceding piece, in addition to a near-triumphant tremolo riff carrying what could loosely be described as “verses”. Add to that the very punky percussion and riffing later on, and the end product turns out to be quite interesting, showcasing sounds the band had only briefly touched upon before. Furthermore, there’s an added emphasis on the moribund declamations – some in English, some in Greek – that had slowly begun to creep into their more recent output, this time surrounded by rowdier instrumentation, and the results turn out to be electrifying. Having that shoddy and  breakdown bookend the song. Really, the demo’s main issue besides its brevity is that we didn’t get to hear more of what was done here.

Again, the main things Endless Void of Negativity suffers from are endemic to most demo releases, along with having a song that’s clearly better than its companion. It’s a glimpse into what might come in the future, especially given the fact that our unknown mastermind teased a new album that is due in 2027. If what we heard here is to be taken at face value, we’re in for something that is at the very least interesting, particularly if things are iterated and expanded upon further. Lord knows I’m more than curious to see how things turn out.

And with that out of the way, we have reached the end of this series on Μνήμα. Admittedly, this part of the review has less to do with the release itself, but getting the opportunity to go on a deep dive into an artist’s discography, taking the time to piece together an evolutionary course of sorts by way of reviewing has been a novel experience for me, one that I am deeply grateful for. The band’s music was a great source of inspiration for me throughout over the past year, and it motivated me to pick writing back up with a renewed focus and a clearer goal as to what I want to achieve through it. Μνήμα has been instrumental in inspiring me to explore the dark underbelly of my own country’s metal scene, far beyond the big names that occupy it. There is a wealth of fascinating Greek bands to go through, whom I have only recently begun to acquaint myself with, and it’s all thanks to the man behind the mask (or under the shroud, if the new picture on the Metallum page is anything to go by). Although I’m putting the lid on this series for the foreseeable future, I lie in wait for an excuse to pull it out of its crypt once again.

Highlight: Βρόχος Σκέψεων

Rating: 65%