Band:	Withered
Album:	Memento Mori
Style:	Blackened death metal
Release date:	September 20, 2005
A review by:	Deadsoulman

01. It's All Said
02. Within Your Grief
03. Like Locusts
04. Silent Grave
05. Beyond Wrath
06. Fear And Pain That Cripples Me
07. Among Sorrow

I am in a playful mood today. Let's have a little quiz:

Q: What happens when two members of the US grindcore band Social Infestation form a new, almost entirely different band?

a) They drink.
b) They drink, rape everything that looks remotely human, and also dogs and hamsters, drink, feast on rotten corpses, tell gore and porn jokes, and drink.
c) They try to drink their instruments.
d) They drink even more.
e) They release the heaviest metal album of the year.

tick-tack? tick-tack? tick-tack?. BUZZ!!

Well? Congratulations to those who gave answer E. You're so cool. As for the others. You can go for brain surgery or healthy trips in the countryside. You seriously need it if you think these awful clichés about our grindcore friends are true.

Anyway, back on track, YES, the correct answer was e) they release the heaviest metal album of the year. Memento Mori is relentless, crushing, heavier than heavy, pounding metal. It is also extremely original, technical and melodic. Withered's music is quite hard to define, but a good overview would be a mix between grind, old school death, noisecore, sludge and? something else called the mysterious and ethereal Personal Touch. Imagine, just for an instant, a mix between Dismember, Neurosis, Cephalic Carnage, Mastodon and Cult Of Luna, and you're still not there.

It has some of the best death-like intros I've heard for long ("Within Your Grief", "Like Locusts"), lethal grinding accelerations ("Beyond Wrath"), touching yet disturbing melodies ("Like Locusts" again), brutal vocals with a touch of despair, excellent slow-, mid- and fast-paced riffs, some amazing drumming that only grind bands can offer, and a raw sludgy production to wrap it all up. Besides, Memento Mori radiates a kind of claustrophobic atmosphere that make me feel quite uneasy, as if lost in a very weird dream, of the kind that you know is too surreal to be happening but leaves you breathless and panting?

Speechless I feel. Not so playful anymore. Got to get out in the sunshine. Meanwhile, this is highly recommended to everyone in search for musical talent, since this might well be the very best album of the year in this genre. In any case, this is a masterpiece that must not be missed.

Highlights: It's All Said, Within Your Grief, Like Locusts and The Fear And Pain That Cripples Me. And also the rest. This is too great to be overlooked.