Memories Of Inexistence
Piah Mater
•
March 10, 2015

Death Metal has always been associated with dark, gory, and morbid themes throughout its long history. Whether it's an all-out bloodbath from the likes of PUTRID PILE, to the anti-Christian tracks of DEICIDE this particular corner of the Metal spectrum has never shied away from topics and themes that many other bands would be wary to even contemplate. PIAH MATER don't have songs about blood, guts, and the lord of flies on their debut release, "Memories of Inexistence", but their lyrical content, focusing more on subject matters such as loss and hurt, are still heavy topics which are much closer to home for many people. And with these dark, brooding lyrics, the Brazilian duo have also created some fitting music which is as haunting as it is brilliant.
The opening track, "Cathiard", begins with a really cool piano piece, before suddenly becoming a fairly vicious sounding, ambient piece of Death Metal. it's characterized by the way that the drums and guitar parts mesh together rather than make a wall of noise, and more importantly, the way the vocals are delivered. There definitely are harsh, abrasive vocal parts on this track, but for the most part, this song is made up of clean vocals, which work incredibly well with the music. "Anticipation", on the other hand, is quite a departure from its predecessor. It's much faster, with more groove to it, and has much more traditional Death Metal vocals. Although this formula is closer to the tried and tested template of the genre at large, it is still miles away from a straight forward piece of Death Metal. "Mother Soil" the album's longest track at just under twelve minutes, has some interesting riffs and vocals patterns that really bring this track to life, and take away much of the monotony that comes with long songs like this one. It slides seamlessly between outright heaviness and speed, to much slower, acoustic sections which complement the song as a whole very well. "Inexistents" is another really nice acoustic piece, with a much more mellow sound and style to it, with just the right amount of ambiance thrown in, and a really good vocal performance from Luiz to match. This is a very short, but also extremely cool track. This, in a way, is the calm before the storm; that storm being the following track, "Young Rust". This is pretty much the "heaviest" track on this album, with guitar parts that have a genuinely aggressive edge, the drumming is inspired, and as always, the vocals fit the music perfectly. "Immaculate" is another track which goes down a much heavier route, at least to begin with. There are some really awesome technical flourishes on display in the opening minutes of the song, but then it takes a much more laid back, acoustic approach that is more in tune with "Inexistents" than this album's more powerful offerings, before swaying back towards the middle of the track. Once we reach the final track, "A Greater Freedom", this band has taken us across a vast scope of sounds and musical influences. And this song attempts to take the listener through as many of these styles, sounds and influences as possible in this last, ten minute epic. There are heavy parts, groovy parts, much more soothing guitar parts and well placed Ambient parts. This encompasses everything the band explore on this release, and is a fantastic way to end this album.
As far as Progressive Death Metal goes, this band has the "Progressive aspects down and mastered. I'd really love to see this band explore these elements much further on future releases, especially the acoustic and Ambient parts. This is a brilliant first release, and hopefully it will be followed by many more. I'd definitely recommend this to any Death Metal fans that want to hear something truly progressive.
9 / 10
Almost Perfect
"Memories Of Inexistence" Track-listing:
1. Cathiard
2. Anticipation
3. Mother Soil
4. Inexuistents
5. Young Rust
6. Immaculate
7. A Greater Freedom
Piah Mater Lineup:
Luiz Felipe Netto - Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Programming
Igor Meira - Guitars
More results...