Shades Below

Sacramento’s metal bands continue to strive for high quality work that will put the city on the map. Therefore, it’s important to take a look at slightly older works that local groups have put out to keep them relevant. While musicians do not always have all the resources they need, nothing pays off like the dedication evident in 15 year old death metal act Mucus Membrane.

The 2005 LP ‘Shades Below’ reminds much of seminal and legendary Mexican Death Metal (formerly death/thrash) act The Chasm and world they belong to. From the snarled vocal projections to the more thrash and burn oriented guitar tones evident, Mucus Membrane bears the marks of that hollowed ensemble. Over the course of the near hour long work; multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, programmer and producer Tom Persons throws everything but the blasphemous kitchen sink at the listener. The result is at the very least interesting and well derived enough to push the listener beyond a cursory listen.

Upon taking a closer look at the career of Persons, it appears that he began his career on the east coast in the bands Pessimist and Sadistic Torment before relocating out to Sacramento area sometime before 1996 (the formation of Mucus Membrane). He was also a part of Davis’s own Psypheria during 1997-8, concurrent to his continued work in Membrane. Those groups have connections to groups like San Francisco supergroup Dragonlord and genre mainstay Dying Fetus. In this way, the bandleader has quite a pedigree under his bullet belt.

What hurts the recording the most is the presence of the drum machine. For one, it’s completely obvious that there is no flesh behind the battery. In addition, the automated robotics are also isolated above the warmth of the other instrument tracks and the vocals. Metal drummers who can play at this level are rare beasts, and many times band masterminds (banderminds?) have to resort to going it alone. This of course leads to a great deal of masterly work, on both the part of ‘Below’ and past present works by other metal masters who went it alone (Quorthon, Valfar etc etc). It seems picky and perhaps mean-spirited to fault the record for this reason, but it does contribute to the dampening of the impact of the art.

Beyond that however, this is a thoroughly realized, excellently played, varied and content heavy album that showcases the talent inherent. It’s likely that Persons had been playing metal for the better part of 15 years at the time of the album’s unveiling. His guitar skills are excellent and varied as he utilizes a myriad of techniques that are orthodox within the genre. Featured are tremolo slashing, sky soaring soloing, medieval acoustic melody making and the groundwork riff pummeling build up an organic and melodic structure to gaze upon with one’s far seeing ears. Due to its length, it’s probably better enjoyed in shorter bursts, as the tracks are both individually defined and somewhat connected to the larger whole of the album. One of death metal’s potential pitfalls is that its thematic breadth can be quite narrow, and while ‘Below’ contains its share of typically heavy topics (political and otherwise) discussed with the genre’s usual gusto, there remains enough variety in its lyrical themes to aid in the parallel story telling evident in the music.

The group’s 2001 demo ‘Defile the Weak’ is also worth a look and compares well with ‘Shades Below’ as a slightly rougher and viler vision. The lineup is unclear, but it might involve more than just the experienced hands of Persons. Who knows? Either way, check it out.

If Tom or any other members of the Membrane are reading this, I am sure your fans are eager for more! The ears of the faithful wait to be punished! Another demo or full length is going be quality, without a doubt.

Originally Published for Examiner.com (http://www.examiner.com/review/mucus-membrane-s-sole-full-length-from-2005-worth-a-look)