Μνήμα: Gathering Sorcery to the Eternal Portals of the Past (2018)

This EP was released a month before the demo that I reviewed yesterday, but the sound is something of a mix between both.  It is sort of odd that the song structures in each of these releases is vastly different.  This is the earliest release and there are two songs, of a length of about five minutes each.  The next release in time had just one song, over eleven minutes long.  And then the most recent release had four songs, none of which touched four minutes in length.

As might be expected by now, the production value is not great.  The sound is very muffled, which is sort of a shame because I think the riffs are probably among the best I have heard from this band.  In fact, I would go so far as to say that with a halfway decent (not even decent, I know how these super underground black metal projects are) production, this would easily be the best of the three releases I have reviewed by this band.  I really like these two songs.

The vocals are still not anything to write home about.  I am not sure there are lyrics, it is more like tortured wailing and shrieking.  The guitars are doing some interesting things.  The drums still do not do a whole lot, but they do not sound bad either.  I still have no idea if there is a bass.

So, with these three releases now done, what is my impression of Μνήμα?  Well, it is kind of hard to tell.  As I said, each release sounds vastly different.  This one and Forbidden Creatures of Time are significantly better than the other one.  I am not sure whether I will be continuing to check in on Μνήμα in the future or not.  I suppose just to hear whether they have changed much would be possible.  I certainly would not discount it.

Μνήμα: Forbidden Creatures of Time (2019)

Whoa.  So, according to my review of the band's Metal Archives page, this release came out two months earlier than the one I reviewed yesterday.  You would not know that from the sound quality and musicality though.  This release is markedly better than yesterday's subject.

I am not going to say that this is a particularly great release, but it is significantly better.  This is just a one-song demo, so it is obvious that the song is much longer than anything on the other release.  In fact it is about as long as all four songs on the other demo combined.  The band stretches their musical abilities here and actually comes up with a compelling song with a number of twists and turns and some honest-to-Satan riffs. 

Another huge difference is the production.  It is still a very raw production and it is certainly not good.  There are still major issues, for instance there is almost no bottom end at all (I am still not sure there is a bass guitar here).  But the drums, while muffled, actually sound like drums.  And the guitars are not so soaked with reverb that they cannot be heard.

I still cannot recommend this release to anyone but the most uber-kvlt of raw black metal fans, but there are some of those out there.  I did enjoy this release significantly more than yesterday's though and that is certainly something.

Μνήμα: The Superior Poisoner of Time (2019)

Ummm, yeah.  Well, let me introduce the band and get started.  There is a little bit to cover, though this review likely will not be a long one.  There really is not much here.  That band name is pronounced "mniee-ma" and it means "tomb" in Greek.  I picked up a few releases by this band because it's a Greek black metal band.  I mean, come on.  Well, here we go.

First off, this is the absolute worst production I have ever heard.  And that is saying something.  The vocals are really high in the mix.  The drums sound like they are in the basement of the recording studio being recorded by placing the equipment on the floor.  The guitars can barely be heard over their reverb.  I am not even sure there is a bass guitar. 

Now, on to the actual music.  The release is mercifully short.  The vocals are not really saying anything, and are delivered in moans or squeals or shrieks.  It sounds more like a bunch of tomcats in heat than anything human.  The drums sound like someone tossed a bunch of pots, pans and metal ladles into the dryer and recorded it.  There is really no rhyme or reason behind anything the drums are doing.  Thankfully they are so muffled (floorboards) that they are barely noticeable.  Every once in awhile a riff shines through and you can almost for a couple of seconds hear what this band might be thinking.  But those moments are brief and far apart.

Skip this one.  It is not worth it.