Despite how much the sound can seem to be oversaturated, there’s still so much to be here throughout the realm of atmospheric black metal. Like most sounds, it requires the right talent to come around and approach the sound with a great deal of care without skimping out on passion nor ingenuity as lacking either of those aspects can result in a flat sound that can leave so much potential on the table. That’s a fate that all too many throughout the sound succumb to. In the case of bands like Conjuring, though? It’s through great passion and a supreme understanding of the sound that works like this are still able to come about and grace our ears.
By all accounts, there really isn’t much about what’s brought forth throughout the six tracks of “Memento Mori” that really shake up much of what atmospheric black metal has become known for. But where the record lacks in ways of something completely new, Conjuring sought to deliver an experience that feels personal, intimate, and downright cathartic in all the best ways possible. Channeling much of the natural and spiritual realms into a stellar vision of the genre that leaves you salivating for another spin, it’s in overcoming personal strife and putting that all into black metal that loses itself to its dense atmospheres that a rich tapestry is created the likes of which we are not granted often enough as the genre continues onward. We’ve seen plenty of names come about in this sound, especially those backed by only a single musician like what we have here, but it’s only on rare occasions that we can witness something unfold that well and truly capitalizes on only the finest aspects of what the genre still has to offer. “Memento Mori” did not seek to become something larger than the sound it embodies so well. Rather, it’s through a deep understanding of the craft that we’re able to lose ourselves in a performance that feels genuine, evocative, and effective in delivering its gorgeous visions right from the very beginning.
This is the kind of album that we’re lucky to get even but a few times in a given year. Atmospheric black metal is constantly overflowing with competition of all sorts with seemingly every different angle being covered by those looking to make this mark known in the vastness of the underground, but few can accomplish something that feels as authentic and genuine like what Conjuring has summoned forth here. It may not be the album of the year contender that we’re always on the lookout for, but it’s every inch of “Memento Mori” that delivers what not many others can.
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