Mother Of Graves |The Light That Keeps Us |Profound Lore Records

Mother Of Graves is an Indianapolis, Indiana death-doom metal quintet featuring vocalist and keyboardist Brandon Howe, guitarists Chris Morrison and Ben Sandman, bassist Corey Clark, and drummer Don Curtis. The band established its place in the modern doom scene with “Where The Shadows Adorn” and expanded its reach with “The Periapt Of Absence”, which ranked No. 11 on Decibel Magazine’s year-end album list. Released through Profound Lore Records, “The Light That Keeps Us” is the band’s third full-length, continuing its exploration of grief, mortality and the difficult relationship between suffering and hope.

“The Light That Keeps Us” combines death metal’s heavier riffs and harsh vocals with mournful guitar melodies, keyboards and the romantic melancholy of doom. Ben Sandman’s production preserves the contrast between the heavier sections and the more restrained arrangements, while the songwriting gives the melodies room to develop across eight tracks. “Wingless Soul” gains an extra dimension from guest vocals by Dan Swanö, whose long association with the band through mastering now extends to a performance on the album.

The lyrics examine sorrow, love, loss and resilience without reducing the subject matter to unrelieved despair. At times, the extended arrangements linger on familiar melodic patterns longer than necessary, and some transitions dilute the impact of the heavier sections. Mournful, heavy and cursed from its melodies, it’s an album that justifies every minute of its duration.

 |8.3