Indianapolis death/doom band MOTHER OF GRAVES have announced their third full-length, The Light That Keeps Us, out October 16 via Profound Lore Records, and unveiled its lead single "Through The Pale Shade".
It follows The Periapt Of Absence, the 2024 album that took the No. 11 spot on Decibel Magazine's Top 40 albums of the year and turned up on a long list of others. Two years of work later, the quintet — vocalist and keyboardist Brandon Howe, guitarists Chris Morrison and Ben Sandman, bassist Corey Clark and drummer Don Curtis — show no interest in easing off that evolution, welding the aggression of death metal to the melancholy and romance of melodic doom across eight tracks about mortality, sorrow, love and resilience.
Sandman again produced, keeping the band's own hands on the console. Fine artist Larisa Brechun painted the cover, matching the record's bleak but strangely uplifting cast.
The long-running collaboration with Dan Swanö goes a step further this time: the Swedish legend has mastered the band's records for years, and here he also delivers guest vocals on opening track "Wingless Soul" — a full-circle moment for a band this deep in the death/doom lineage.
"'Through The Pale Shade' is a lyrical tale of resilience in a faltering world and letting the hands of beauty be your uplifting guide through the darkest and most desperate pits of the self and soul," Howe says of the single. "Instrumentally, the song bleeds a similar hope and despair within each note. We chose this song as the first single because we feel it thoroughly encapsulates the true and honest nature of our sound. From start to finish, it speaks well in terms of our identity that we've steadily grown into as a band; coalescing with our personal touches the heavy approach to things and melodies that feel dreamlike without sacrificing the wholeness of the song itself."
The Light That Keeps Us arrives October 16 on CD, LP and digital.
Tracklist:
- Wingless Soul (feat. Dan Swanö)
- Through The Pale Shade
- The Light That Keeps Us
- Eventide Angel
- The Silent Weight Of The Stars
- A Moonlit Tryst
- The Beggar's Allegory
- The Endless Climb
Line-up:
- Brandon Howe — vocals, keyboards
- Chris Morrison — guitar
- Ben Sandman — guitar
- Corey Clark — bass
- Don Curtis — drums
Stream and pre-order: The Light That Keeps Us