Mother of Graves are Melodic Death/Doom necromancers from Indianapolis, IN.

Fans of early Katatonia, Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride, Anathema, and Tiamat will make lifelong blood-pacts with the band’s spellbinding debut EP, “In Somber Dreams.”

Named after a mythological Latvian protector of cemeteries (Kapu māte), Mother of Graves blend their despondent atmosphere with old school aesthetics. Crushing and evocative, their first demo songs caught the ear of Wise Blood Records. You can also add iconic Swedeath musician and engineer Dan Swanö (Edge of Sanity, Bloodbath) to the band’s ever-growing supporters. Swanö mastered “In Somber Dreams” and was immediately entranced by their Peaceville Records ambience. Enter Mother of Graves’ somber dreamscapes and meet the new guardians of Melodic Death/Doom.

“Mother of Graves is a direct response to the “Peaceville 3,” nascent stage Katatonia, and recent bats out of the belfry, Cloak and Khemmis. This blend of ancient and contemporary creates a unique crossroads sound, where the deathly and the depressive form otherworldly ententes. It only seems appropriate that the Mother Of Graves name was derived from the Latvian protector of cemeteries (Kapu māte). Decibel Magazine: “The band’s new EP — out January via newly formed Wise Blood Records — indeed is the stuff of melodic (the dark and evil kind) legend.

In Somber Dreams pulls in close Katatonia’s Sounds of Decay EP, the weight of loss from My Dying Bride’s Like Gods of the Sun, and the angst of October Tide’s Rain Without End. “But Mother Of Graves aren’t just on the blue side. They have a diehard death metal foundation, all ivy-covered tombstones and the scent of funereal petrichor.

The track Decibel is streaming, “The Urn,” is all parts of the above, riven (and emanating) from the back of the mausoleum vault. That In Somber Dreams was mastered by Swedish sage Dan Swanö (Katatonia, Opeth) means more to the process — of prolonging despondent death — than is evident here.”

The Obelisk: “This has been a really awful year for a lot of things and a really good year for death-doom… “The Urn” [is] a pretty efficient mood-capture when it comes to the general state of restless melancholia that has complemented the enduring, teeth-grind of anxiety [in 2020].”