Mythology - An Infernal Grave (T)

Hailing from the northernmost corners of New York in a small and desolate city known as Plattsburgh where metal is nothing more than scene kids trotting around in As I Lay dying or Trivium shirts, blackened death metal quartet Mythology represents a rising force of darkness, despair, and brutality. Closely resembling early black metal acts such as Mayhem, Emperor, Immortal, and Darkthrone as well as modern death metal like Nile, Deicide, and Vital Remains, Mythology has quickly risen to the top of the music scene and have become one of the most popular metal acts of the area.

With the release of the “An Infernal Grave EP” through local label Morgue House Records, Mythology entered the studio with their original drummer Narroth. The EP was released to celebrate their acceptance of playing alongside legendary death metallers, Vital Remains. Despite the fact that the EP only consisted of 4 tracks, it was an epic metal masterpiece nonetheless. Mythology entered the studio in hopes to improve the already amazing tracks that all appeared on the very first mythology album, “It Begins” and in my opinion succeeded. With the drumming abilities of Narroth and the ever improving guitar work of Gallows, and Skinny, and the pulsating rhythms produced by Lord Benicide DCLXVI as well as the hellish cries from Gallows' vocal chords, it’s no wonder Mythology has become so popular amongst the fans of metal in Plattsburgh and the surrounding area, including parts of Canada.

The EP opens with the title track, An Infernal Grave, which truthfully makes you feel like you are in hell being tortured by every demon in the wretched place. The riffs are fast and dark and the vocals on the chorus remind me of a banshee. The drums on this particular track are phenomenal. Narroth shows off his phenomenal talent on this track in particular though his abilities do not falter throughout the album. The following track is a local favorite known as Serpent Slayer which has many powerful riffs and a more death metal essence than the other tracks of the album. Shortly after comes The Fallen Have Risen. This track is a relatively simple yet epic tune that shows off Mythology’s talent as songwriters. The Final track is one of my favorite Mythology tunes known as In Dismay. This song has a powerful despairing atmosphere fueled by Gallows’ extreme misanthropy and cynicism towards humanity. The album is worth viewing by anyone interested in Metal of any sorts, except that kind that believes only in clean singing considering the vocals are completely black metal vocals.

Being a personal friend of the band, I wish Mythology the best of luck in their endeavors as musicians. For anyone interested in checking them out, Mythology can be found on Myspace at www.myspace.com/mythology where the EP can be listened to in full upon their music playlist. Until next time, Infernal hails!