I’ve been holding my breath for this album, and rather than turn blue for my obsession, I purposely avoided any social media surrounding the release. That way I didn’t spoil it for myself. It worked out too.

Mother of Graves goes deep on The Light that Keeps Us. I thought The Periapt of Absence was a depressing album… Jesus Christ on a bicycle, I could actually feel a palpable sorrow overtake my body during my time with The Light that Keeps Us.

Going full-blown Doom wasn’t too difficult for these guys. There’s a thick miasma of My Dying Bride, Candlemass, and Cathedral that oozes from the speakers right away with “Wingless Soul”, an eight-minute deep dive into the depths of sorrow. The music is heavy as fuck, and the weight of the subject matter is palpable. The perfect opener for this album.

“Through the Pale Shade” is next, and the My Dying Bride influences keep coming out. I’m really getting AOTY vibes, but I don’t want to be premature. There are no fast-paced songs on The Light that Keeps Us. The Periapt of Absence had at least a few fast bits, but here there are none. Mother of Graves has fully embraced the Doom, and I’m all in on that shit.

The Light that Keeps Us looks and sounds phenomenal. A gargantuan amount of love was poured into this monster, and it shows in every note. The title track starts out with an isolated drum before the guitars start making themselves known. It picks up a little speed, sort of a Death Rock ‘ n’ Roll thing, and that main riff is a thing of beauty. I literally felt like my heart was going to break while listening to this album. It has this sense of emotion I haven’t heard since The Angel and the Dark River or even “The Sexuality of Bereavement”.

As the album soldiers on, “Eventide Angel” is such a good song; it’s got power in the riffs that other Doom artists should take note of. This is how it’s fucking done. “The Silent Weight of the Stars” has an infectious main riff that wraps itself around your eardrums and massages them. The pinch harmonic at the end of the riff is PERFECT.

Is there anything wrong with The Light that Keeps Us? Not in the slightest. “A Moonlit Tryst” and “The Beggar’s Allegory” are straightforward Doooom. The former mixes acoustic and electric guitars for maximum effect, and the latter has this fucking killer moment right in the middle of the song where you think they’re going to blast, but no — the speedy guitar leads into this huge double-bass pattern that is absolutely crushing. It works so much better than the easy route of discharge/blast.

“The Endless Climb” is the grand finale, the doomiest doom that has ever doomed before. It’s the perfect closer for this powerhouse album. Encapsulating a two-year process of recording and getting things ready.

If you’ve been feeling like your Doom meter is on the low end, then The Light that Keeps Us is the album for you, constant reader. Go forth and obtain.

The Periapt of Absence is the second album following the accolades laden first album Where the Shadows Adorn. When an album speaks to me I’ll listen to it on repeat all day, which is exactly what I did and my fucking God this album drips emotion, it’s like a trip into the mind of a person dealing with incredible loss. I found myself being drawn into the suffering and ruminating on my own losses.

It all starts with “Gallows” and it’s here that my ears picked up some My Dying Bride impressions, this song rocks hard; Don Curtis is a beast behind the kit and a human metronome; and on “Shatter the Visage” it’s the work of Chris Morrison – guitar, and Ben Sandman – guitar that conjure up the most killer riffing, with a solo that worms into your mind and shreds it to bits.

“A Scarlet Threnody” goes hard on the Doom, it’s an earth moving track with some gorgeous guitar work and the coolest lyric “at the throat of the world I kneel” and then it fucking swings with this killer hard rocking beat. The thing I love most about The Periapt of Absence is how they bring different styles together while maintaining a solid footing in the Death Metal realm.

“Apparition” is one of my favorite tracks, it just goes for the throat with fury, a brilliant shift from raging power to some utterly mesmerizing keys and it’s a Doom back to back with the title track bringing a big Candlemass feeling, right around the 3:33 mark; it’s another great moment that Mother of Graves throws at you.

The arrangement of the songs is used to maximum effect, the production is stellar, bringing more weight to the album, from the press release: The crushing production work of The Periapt Of Absence, provided by the band’s Ben Sandman with dynamic mastering by the legend Dan Swanö, amplifies the monumental rhythm section anchored by drummer Don Curtis and bassist Corey Clark, while illuminating the intricate guitar harmonies skillfully woven by guitarists Ben Sandman and Chris Morrison.

DAN FUCKING SWANÖ! The guy is a legend in so many ways and his hands are all over The Periapt Of Absence.

“As the Earth Fell Silent” brings more of a solid Death Metal monster with some crushing double bass near the end. “Upon Burdened Hands” is a huge, My Dying Bride circa Turn Loose the Swans and even Paradise Lost around Gothic era. “Like Darkness to a Dying Flame” is the massive closing track and when I say massive, I mean the shelf clouds leading up to a brutal storm filled with tornadoes and death guaranteed.

The bottom line, down to the bone marrow: The Periapt of Absence is raw emotion laid bare, a blood eagle of sorrow. Mother of Graves have created an album so incredibly good that it deserves your attention, constant reader. This is a record you need in your collection.