ALBUM REVIEW: Memento Mori – Hail The Void
British Columbia, Canada is known for its sprawling and dense woodlands, dramatic mountain ranges and deep, azure lakes. Emerging from the shadows of the spruces and pines, with a wealth of inspiring scenery surrounding them, HAIL THE VOID unleash their incredible and intoxicating brand of psychedelic doom upon the land. Following up their strong and emotive self-titled debut album in 2020, Memento Mori sees the band push their boundaries with sumptuous riffs, expanded psychedelic atmospheres, melancholic melodies and powerful, passionate vocals. This album will reach into the dark corners of your being and pull out the black sludge that resides there, transforming it into a collection of dark psychedelic melodies that will continually reverberate in the darkness until the end of time.
“Memento Mori” as a concept is one that has been inspiring musicians, artists and writers for time immemorial. The Latin phrase (meaning ‘remember that you have to die’) that is rooted in classical philosophy speaks to the morbid fascination that the human mind has with the afterlife and as a result has become the focal point for funerary art. With popular motifs consisting of skulls, bones, hourglasses, coffins, Death personified as the Grim Reaper and wilting flowers all signifying the impermanence of human life, conjuring up either comfort or fear from within the observer of the art, it is easy to see why this subject has transcended the centuries. HAIL THE VOID have channelled all of these things into their sophomore album. Just like the wilting flowers and shadowy figure adorning the album’s cover, Memento Mori is eerie and haunting yet magnificently majestic – the gothic grandeur cannot be understated.
Simultaneously ethereal and celestial, this is an album that takes you on a spiritual journey. The unique and hypnotic vocals and lyrics of frontman Kirin Gudmundson encourage you to look into the void of your soul and truly reflect on those parts of yourself that don’t often, if at all, see the light of day. Bridging the gaps between doom, blues-tinged classic rock and heavy psychedelia, HAIL THE VOID have stumbled upon a sweet spot that utilises the strengths of all three genres equally to illustrious effect. Moving from crushing heaviness to softer, eerie atmospherics to soaring, melodic solos, there is a veritable feast of rock, metal and psychedelia for you to devour.
With this in mind, it places HAIL THE VOID firmly and deservedly in the company of ELECTRIC WIZARD and WINDHAND. Yet the album has an enchanting, lysergic quality that can be found in the best of PINK FLOYD’s work. This makes Memento Mori a gloriously rich, multi-dimensional and multi-layered album. It is also a remarkably fluid album, no matter what mood you’re in or the perspective you’re currently seeing the world through, Memento Mori will find a way to resonate with you and that is a testament to HAIL THE VOID’s captivating songwriting.
Memento Mori’s introductory track Mind Undone sounds like a descent into the void. Gradually evolving, tense and eerie feedback loops are accompanied by incoherent, spectral voices that send a chill down your spine. This gradually fades into Writing On The Wall, a slow building, dark doom song with enormous fuzzy riffs supported by a pounding drum beat that will have you nodding your head with your signature groove face, the song’s solo also feels very Sabbath Bloody Sabbath/Sabotage era BLACK SABBATH. Goldwater focuses more on the band’s dark psychedelic side. Hypnotic and enigmatic, you feel drawn to this song in ways that are beyond comprehension. Talking To The Dead is a visceral, scorching doom track that brings out HAIL THE VOID’s aggressive side. The anthemic chorus riff transports you deep into your mind as Gudmundson’s vocals reverberate off of the abyss walls.
High And Rising is a deep, doomy and layered song that has an erotic quality to its atmospheric verses before you are smacked square in the jaw with a beastly riff – it makes it feel like the song is teasing you as it slowly builds up to it. The song that will probably tug on many emotions is 100 Pills. Solemn, melancholic and doleful, Gudmundson’s operatic vocal melodies make you ponder many things as the gentle guitars wash of you and Dean Gustin’s warming bass somewhat comforts you. Serpens South is very similar to High And Rising, but with incepts of the more of the emotive playing heard 100 Pills. Closer The Void beautifully but sorrowfully ends the album with delicate psychedelics and stripped back drums – a moment of calm before your inevitable slip into the afterlife.
Memento Mori is a beautifully evocative and diverse album and HAIL THE VOID have outshone themselves in multiple ways. It will be hard for anyone not to resonate with this album in some way, shape or form.
Rating: 9/10
Memento Mori is set for release on February 17th via Ripple Music.
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