Songs for the Apocalypse Vol. IV

I have to admit that I’d never heard of Mike Wead when I got a hold of the first Memento Mori album. I had no idea who Hexenhaus were either; I merely followed Messiah Marcolin’s career as for me he was, and still is, one of the ten finest voices in metal, his controversial cantankerous persona notwithstanding. As much as I was annoyed by his departure from Candlemass, I couldn’t help but be intrigued by his subsequent endeavours as a vocal talent of such proportions couldn’t possibly get involved in something unworthy…

and here I was, in the midst of 1993, sucked into his act’s new cause, or so I thought at the time; until I found out that this wasn’t a new act, and this wasn’t his cause as this whole project was the brainchild of one man only, the mentioned Mike Wead, a guitar wizard of Shrapnel proportions (and beyond), who had decided to shift from the technical progressive/thrash idea he was pursuing under the Hexenhaus moniker, and to embark on a more power/doom, still progressive enough, metal-fixated journey for a change in the new decade. Decision well noted, and greatly enhanced by the addition of the former Candlemass singer.

The band’s debut, alongside Candlemass’ “Chapter VI”, established a trend that grew into a wholesome movement in the next 5/6 years with quite a few acts (Pathos, Memory Garden, Veni Domine, Morgana Lefay, Fifth Reason, the Candlemass extension Abstrakt Algebra, etc.) joining the fray. Both bands made compromises with their initial delivery, Candlemass with their epic doom hymns, Wead’s gang with their more aggressive thrashy shenanigans the resultant template comprising progressive, power, doom and a little bit of thrash in some cases (Pathos, above all). The Wead/Marcolin partnership did a very good job on the first two instalments, launching said movement assuredly, but the perennially unreliable Marcolin abandoned this camp for the third opus, the latter still a fairly cool effort with his replacement Kristian Andren (later Fifth Reason) almost as convincing.

Marcolin is back in action on the album reviewed here, the final chapter from the Memento Mori saga, with Wead having already brought Hexenhaus back to life a few months earlier. That being the case, the guys make sure it counts as everyone puts his heart into it “The Things You See” gripping the listener with the dark choppy rhythms, the spell-binding fretwork, the poignant melodies, and last but not least Marcolin’s bewitching soaring vocals. There’s no change of style from the preceding works “Under My Blackened Sky” focusing more on the doomy gloomy atmosphere with the super-heavy rhythm-section, and “One Sign Too Many” introducing gorgeous melodic pirouettes Wead outdoing himself with a never-ending supply of twisted dark motifs that will bring to mind Scorpions’ early doom metal classic “Animal Magnetism”. “Burned by Light” is a marginally more uplifting proposition with brighter guitar work and more pathos-like Marcolin, the closest he and his team-mates come to the sorrowful grandeur of Candlemass here.

Not that the band intentionally aim at their renowned compatriots’ repertoire although “Memento Mori” is a vintage ship-sinking doomster its funeral-like aura partially dissipated by the more dynamic jumpier rhythms of “I Prayed”, Wead’s pyrotechnics adeptly supervising the proceedings. Having already mentioned “Animal Magnetism”, the very song itself materializes before the listener’s ears/eyes, conjured from the dark early-80’s dungeons, a most logical cover choice provided that the whole album sides really well with the sinister oppressive nature of this depressor that made a child of a family that were visiting our house cry, literally; I was asked to turn the music off… apologies to the Scorps, but such things happen, and it’s really good that at least others find the Germans’ art to their taste as Wead and Co. provide a fairly faithful rendition to this child scarer with Marcolin sacrificing his operatic bravado for the sake of a subdued, mid-ranged timbre, still convincing enough to make this version arguably the best one of the lot that also features interpretations by Helstar, Testament, and a couple of lesser known doom and death metal acts. Quite a bit of doom and gloom towards the end, but fortunately there will be way out of the darkness with “Out of Darkness”, a truly impressive shredder with dazzling guitars and virtuous melodic pirouettes, not to mention the more energetic leaps and bounds and the superb lead-driven finale.

A really fitting epitaph to a short career, at least under this name, that can even pass for the band’s finest hour, staying true to the initially chosen path, maybe a bit more doom-inclined than the earlier recordings which is hardly a complaint as that particular genre was the leading component from the provided formula, also giving Wead a chance to present himself as a capable performer within more restrained, less energetic parametres. Mission accomplished all over although the Hexenhaus fans may be a bit disappointed as that formation’s last opus (“Dejavoodoo”) so far, released the same year, was much closer in spirit to the Memento Mori’s sombre approach than to the tech-thrash exploits of old. Not exactly a cause for worry, but not a very comfortable situation, either, which has remained unresolved as Wead has been busy with King Diamond/Mercyful Fate (primarily) for the past 18 years. I guess he feels safe under the King’s cloak, that’s good, but let’s all hope that his own projects will soon stretch beyond their current “pleasant memory” status.

Memento Mori has been a pet project of sorts for me, one of those little side efforts that may have meant little to the masses but nevertheless carved out a niche in my soul. The core of the band was Mike Wead and his insane, droning, classically-inspired doom approach. A stoner's Malmsteen, or perhaps more accurately described as the marriage of drugged-out noodling with plenty of talent applied. To me its a heck of an intoxicating mix, and although the final results have been mixed, I always fixated on the valiant attempts at greatness, even when the ultimate pinnacle of achievement has proven somewhat elusive.

For those willing souls traveling to the same destination as Wead -- the Psycho's Path -- the rewards are hefty indeed. There's material for a heavy guitar player to feast on, delivery of message and tone by one of metal's all-time great crooners, and contributions by other fine musicians and songwriters such as Nikkey Argento and Snowy Shaw. In short, this is more than just another flippant side project. It's nearly a supergroup, and in my humble judgement, Memento Mori should have been recognized by more and given a higher place in the metal consciousness than it received.

And so it was with pleasure that I noted the final effort from the band included the re-pairing of Wead and Marcolin. La Danse Macabre was more or less a Wead solo album, with Mike contributing all the song writing and a hefty portion of the production sensibilities. I wanted to hear more collaboration, and I got it in Songs for the Apocalypse vol 4.

The Things You See (And the Things You Don't) is a fitting opening. Slick and mechanical, it delivers a sort of updated approach, precisely written yet infectuous, almost poppy. Owing to its different subject matter or the slick, steely production values, the song sets a new tone for the band and succeeds due to its nice, crunchy rhythm and memorable chorus line. There is also some nicely placed syncopation and interplay between rhythm guitar and drums. I dig the tight E-string palm-muted rhythm and Marcolin's trademarked vocal delivery. To me, this is just "YEAH, THEY'RE BACK!" The lead break is muscular and glorious, topping off the whole affair.

One Sign Too Many begins with power doom in all its glory, then settles into a predictable but effective melody and vocal delivery. Without even looking at the linear notes, I can tell this was written largely by Wead. Once I hear that little noodling guitar lead part over the top of the crunchy detuned undercurrent -- that's Mike Wead. If there's a distinctive element to Memento Mori's approach, it's Wead's little guitar riffs, infecting you like a whisper that won't go away.

Burned by Light is classic Memento Mori, delivering power doom with an infectuous melodic overlay, crunching into your head and then sliding across your brain with its delicious melodic guitar lines, scoped perfectly with Marcolin's vocal delivery. This is Memento Mori. It's sarcastic, doomy, oddly -- poppy -- in its approach. When the rhythm stops for the chorus to begin, and then Wead hits that melodic dark guitar line, it makes me think of nuclear explosions and skeletons playing their concerto to the demise of the world. Oh hey, look -- that's the cover art! Burned by Light fits the pantheon of what Memento Mori was trying to achieve all along. Fantastic.

All this being said, there does appear to be some filler on Songs for the Apocalypse. The cover of Animal Magnetism falls flat, especially in light of the apt reproduction of Schenker's Lost Horizons on Rhymes of Lunacy. Animal Magnetism is a great Scorpions classic, but it's also a song that is difficult to add to in a historical sense. Here, the Memento Mori bunch just throw it out there, almost as an afterthought. I could have done without it. Messiah's self-written ode to the band itself is a nice little ditty, but it just doesn't linger in my brain like it should. It sounds too derivative of his other work with Candlemass, and somehow just doesn't come together as a whole like I wanted it to.

The final shot of glory for the band appears to be I Prayed. The lyrical material sort of fits in with Messiah's Candlemass roots, and indeed he wrote them. But the song structure and overall tone are provided by Wead. Beginning with a fine interplay between guitar and drums, then screeching off into a strange off-key jazz interlude, this works somehow. It's pretty chaotic until the main verses kick in, but ultimately settles on several variations of palm-muted low-register comping and changeup refrains and choruses. The lead breakdown is dissonant, grating -- wonderful.

All in all I was happy to have this final effort from the band before they took their final bow and rode off into the sunset -- or more precisely, to other projects in their respective musical careers. For Messiah, it was back to Candlemass, for a time. For Wead, it was on to the ranks of the King Diamond army. At this late date, Memento Mori is all but forgotten by most. But that just makes it all the more special for me. I really enjoyed this band's efforts, their approach, their whole deal. I will continue to drag these old CDs out from their dusty rack every now and then, and enjoy a slab of dark, doomy melody unlike any other act.