Album Review: Grethor – Damnatio Memoriae (Edgewood Arsenal)

Hailing from Virginia, extreme metal band, Grethor will release their first full length album on January 26th 2018 via Edgewood Arsenal. Damnatio Memoriae is the follow up to the 2015 EP Cloaked in Decay.

Regarding the themes of the album, vocalist Marcus Lawrence commented, “Religion has always been a tool of oligarchy; it had always been the most effective. Whenever it seemed that we were going to transcend it, the shamanistic class would always be amplified by the oligarchs who needed a compliant labour force…The endless wars, the raping of ecosystems, the genocides all in the name of the benevolence of the ‘Christian Nation.’ If we are allowed to denigrate into whatever our tribal instincts desire, if we insist on only existing in only the reality we choose, then the violence that will follow will be inevitable.”

While falling somewhere in the extreme metal genre, Grethor provide far more with Damnatio Memoriae. A mish-mash of genres; The Imminent Unknown, The God of Eugenics & The Last Manifesto bring varying degrees of hostile & convincing metal. Unashamedly heavy, the destructive force continues to batter at your senses as the album progresses.

Embracing Oblivion brings sonic devastation to the forefront with stunning rhythm & a level of extreme that Grethor make sound so simple. With all of that they even have time to throw in an absolute screeching guitar solo too.

Going from strength to strength, the album refuses to just tow the line & commit to one specific design. Tongue of Argent is an upliftingly stylish number, Enantiodromia is a thundering portion of extreme malice, Weaponized Madness brings dark atmosphere to a moody track and From This Rot So Shall We Be Remade blends both a haunting sound with an injection of pace that is disgustingly heavy.

A memorable listen completes with one last savage assault. Wounds of Ruin is Grethor throwing their all into delivering a breathless finale.

Grethor – Damnatio Memoriae Full Track Listing:

1. The Imminent Unknown
2. The God of Eugenics
3. The Last Manifesto
4. Embracing Oblivion
5. Tongue of Argent
6. Enantiodromia
7. Requiem for a Strawman
8. Weaponized Madness
9. Manic Nostalgia
10. From This Rot So Shall We Be Remade
11. Wounds of Ruin

You can pick up the album, earlier music & merchandise over on Bandcamp. Find out more about Grethor on Facebook & Twitter. You can also watch some of their videos on YouTube.