Into Nevermore

I have kind of a one-track mind when it comes to music; I like albums to have super consistent, even one-dimensional styles in mood, melodic form, and overall technique. That's why my enjoyment of 'Into Nevermore' strikes me as so curious; I mean, this isn't a Cynic album or something, but Membaris certainly runs a pretty broad range of black metal styles, from more misanthropic and traditionally Norwegian to a rushing, speedy style of Germanic black to somewhat thrash or folk-infused portions and everywhere in between. The reason I can tolerate this is because all these different styles and shifts in mood and texture are combined in such a natural and evocative manner; rarely is a band as able to fuse seemingly disparate ideas as these guys.

The music here has something of an operatic tone; there's a lot of sweeping, sudden changes in key and mood on this record, but it's all rather methodically planned and you never get the impression that such a thing occurs just due to the band running out of ideas. The tracks have a very narrative, defined structure, and overall 'Into Nevermore' comes off as remarkably elegant when compared to the majority of similarly styled melodic black metal. The two primary modes of this music are an early Norwegian style derived from Immortal and Mayhem and a more insistently melodic style that one might distantly compare to Lunar Aurora; while both are executed admirably on their own, it's the juxtaposition of these ideas that sees Membaris really exploring some interesting places musically. The changes of pace are massively dependent on the guitars, where one section will culminate in a frantic chordset before diving headlong into the next. There's an almost Emperoresque tendency for the guitars to announce a change of riff long before the drums do; while sudden, they're not altogether unpleasant.

Membaris gets a lot of mileage out of a series of similar, fairly common melodic ideas due to their sense of pacing and ability to plan out a track. This is very unrockish black metal despite its occasional thrashy tendencies; the songs often meander around the musical space, constrained but not constricted, content to explore the corners of a particular idea before fading into the next track. Membaris was apparently displeased with the mixing of this album, which I don't really understand: it fits the music, being clear and bright but maintaining the necessary bite for the style. I think a lot of the variation that comes from this fairly long album is a matter of technical skill: the guitarists in this band are clearly a cut above the average underground black metal band but evidence it in subtle ways- a small technical fill here, an unusual, winding riff there. It's not flashy but it's most certainly present.

Membaris is probably overlooked by the greater metal scene due to their lack of outwardly unique elements, but one listen to 'Into Nevermore' tells the story of a band with a good deal more ambition and talent than the average. I like this a lot; it's not the sort of thing I typically enjoy in my black metal, but the way it's assembled strikes me in a unique way. This is most certainly one of the better underground black metal releases out there; seek it out.