Track Listing

1. It's All Said
2. Within Your Grief
3. Like Locusts
4. Silent Grave
5. Beyond Wrath
6. Fear and Pain That Cripples Me
7. Among Sorrow

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #139852 in Music
• Released on: 2005-09-20
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .23 pounds

Customer Reviews

A fine example of first generation Death Metal
Memento Mori is the debut release of American extreme metal band Withered, in many ways evocative of the first generation nihilistic death metal acts like Unleashed, Entombed, and Dismember. With numerous sludgy elements comprised of slow, agonizing riffage that also recall modern bands Mastodon, the album takes you on a short musical journey back in time when the earlier Swedish metal bands were at their creative peak, playing relentless death metal heavier than a ten-ton hammer.

Arguably the best release Lifeforce Records have put out in 2005, Memento Mori mostly stands out with its dark atmosphere, delving into black metal territory, especially on the short cuts "Silent Grave" and "Fear and Pain That Cripples Me". Tremelo-picked guitar riffs abound the tracks with a similarity to the black/death extremity of Dissection, the normally grinding vocals of Chris Freeman and Mike Thompson turn into maniacal screaming over an impressive technical lead solo. The dark atmosphere is also evident on the almost 9-minute album finale "Among Sorrow", loaded with pulverizing sludge riffs, spoken vocals, and an almost doomy style. The dark vibe of the song will please many Immolation fans.

With all that said, the centrepiece of Memento Mori is the other 8-minute number "Like Locusts". The song embodies everything Withered is about, from a sludgy build-up in the intro that breaks into a passage filled with massive guitar lines, shifts of complex rhythms marked by fiery drumming, brutal vocals that border on grindcore, and a very distorted bass bottom. Fans of Mastodon and Isis are going to drool over "Beyond Wrath" for its long drawn-out instrumental section, rock-solid riffs, and Chris Freeman's tortured vocals. The riff at the end of this song is simply out of this world. Next to Mastodon, Withered are a band that have excelled in playing awesome guitar riffs that characterize the essence of their brutality. Given the proper promotion and a tour in support of a huge band, Withered could enjoy considerable success in the metal community.

It's All Said.
WITHERED - Memento Mori
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Withered has found away to combine all things heavy into their pulverizing debut Memento Mori. Taking sludge and doom metal to new heights (Or should I say `Lows'?) with a combination of blistering grind and black, death metal. The atmosphere created is comparable to older Isis or Neurosis, yet much, much darker in scope. Their addition of thriving low lying guitar harmonies are often at times the only glimpse of beauty in their dark musical delivery. The thundering low-end (distorted) bass and Scrowled* vocals are reminiscent, at times, of Troy from Mastodon. And the drum work is a mix between simplistic pounding rhythms and complex tribal vibes.
[*SCROWLED (Skr_owl_d) - A combination of Screaming and Growling*
NOTE: Made up word - DO NOT USE in everyday speech. - You will sound like an idiot!]

Fear not, Withered is no clone... in fact this band seems to have so many influences it is difficult to determine standard classifications ,so for genre sake I will just call it Heavy Metal.
This release is solid, especially for a debut... more so, the potential they have is undeniable.

Favorite Songs: Within Your Grief, Among Sorrow, and Beyond Within.
-4.5

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Like A Rapid Slug
Defining "heavy" is something of a grey area, and I've found over the years it divides metal fans down the middle. Does sublimely fast black metal make for the most "heavy" brand? Or is it actually the most severe of slow doom/drone with the thickest, most otherworldly guitar tone? Well, Withered don't give a s**t about this argument. They play both. Well.

Yes, death/doom/grindcore is Withered's deal. It's not a new sound at all - in fact, one of doom's most heralded bands, My Dying Bride, used to gallop into black metal territory with gay abandon. But Withered sound utterly heavier. More raw, more engulfing...just all round more brutal. Their sound has an uncomfortable claustrophobic feeling, largely thanks to a very thick guitar production which I really dig. And they switch between tempos and styles at brake-neck speed with absolute ease. The changes come fast, and out of nowhere. No pretentious atmospherics, or bridges building up climaxes - it's just hit after hit. Opener "It's All Said" sets all this up perfectly, ripping through a variety of riffs and speeds, all encapsulating their thundering, juicy guitar sound, abrasive vocals and lightening drumming. My favourite track here is "Like Locusts", mostly for its enormously heavy and beautiful doom opening. It's up there with the very best doom openings and riffs I've heard, and I'm an avid listener of the genre, so it's saying something. The rest of the songs follow suit, and there isn't really a dull moment to be found.

"Memento Mori" is a very solid debut and promises much for this talented act. Worth checking out for fans of doom/death metal.