Memoria – Death Calls The Islands (2011)

If Moonsorrow, Primordial, and Ulver had a genetically engineered (and somewhat defective) son, it would most likely sound like Memoria from Australia. In their latest release “Death Calls The Islands”, the band delivers a few well-crafted tracks that will surely grab your attention, and a few others that will make you scratch your head. The band’s interesting combination of influences also does them in, since the songs get a bit repetitive and dull after a while, something that in our opinion also happens to Moonsorrow.

In the opener “The Dogs Smell Blood”, the band immediately lifts a wall of distorted guitars that reminds us of a mixture of Moonsorrow and Primordial, but it does get a bit dull after the sixth track. The production also allows this element to overshadow the vocals in particular, frustrating us after a while. The clean vocal are and excellent hybrid between Garm and Vortex, but they are not exploited correctly. The Emperor-esque “Claw At The Pine” keeps things interesting, but it also sounds a little too much like Emperor from their Anthems-era.

The atmospheric passage/filler “E-C-T” feels a bit out of place, and does not even signal a transition in the release since “Dr Creve” sounds exactly as all the other songs before it. Our favorite track of this release is the very mellow folk-ish “The Rats Resist”, a track that showcases a different side of the band and demonstrates that they don’t have to hide behind a wall of distortion to create an effective atmospheric piece.

Going back to ‘more of the same’, “Twenty Fifth Island” delivers very uninspired drums and equally dull riffs. We are not trying to purposely ‘trash’ this band, but with such a weak song we are left with no other option. Closing with the semi-Drone sounding “The Blood Wave”, the band effectively delivers another weird track that has some good melodic elements that are quickly killed by the opening and ending sounds of the song.

Overall, there are pretty solid ideas and good sections in “Death Calls The Islands”, but there are also some dreadful parts that will make you want to rip your hair out. Experimental music is a big hit-and-miss sometimes and we only hope that Memoria does not give up and keep working towards a more unified and less chaotic sound.

Release: October 9th, 2011

Genre: Black Metal / Experimental

Country: Australia