The Mosaic Window “Hemasanctum”
Hemasanctum will be released on all physical & digital formats on November 15th via Willowtip Records
The classic combination of melodic death metal and black metal is one I hold dear to my heart. As it perfectly depicts the brutality and beauty of extreme metal. When combined well, we get an incredibly emotive piece of music that is multi-layered and dynamic. However, when these sub genres are not combined well, the music comes out disjointed and forced together. Fortunately, The Mosaic Window, from Los Angeles, California, is a band that gets it and is not afraid to add some extra complexity to the mix in order to give life-long listeners something a little new.
Andrew Steven Brown, the mastermind behind The Mosaic Window, released his first full length album Plight of Acceptance in June 2023 independently. After a few months on the platform, the buzz surrounding the project grew significantly and drew the attention of USA based label Willowtip Records. Who then issued the record on vinyl and CD. On the heels of this partnership, Andrew began writing his sophomore album Hemasanctum. This time around, all drums were handled by Gabe Seeber of Abigail Williams & Vale of Pnath, which gives the project a different feel from the debut. We are also treated to two guest solos from legendary guitarist Andy LaRocque of King Diamond & Death, which also adds a different musical dimension to the songs they are featured in. Lyrically, the album continues to explore themes of dealing with familial issues but expands the scope to life as a whole.
“Hemasanctum is a concept album that explores my current thoughts on life, relationships (parent-child), and loss. While it may or may not be obvious, the album starts with a song about birth and ends with a song about death. In between are songs intentionally out of order (like the roller-coaster timeline we all experience) subtly relating to topics like self-awareness, mental health, abortion, religion, and grief.” - Andrew Steven Brown
Before we dig into the music itself, I want to touch on the artwork and name of the album as they both compliment the music and lyrics very well. The impressive painting chosen to depict the content of this album is called “Dead Mother I” by Egon Schiele (1910). Although the exact meaning of the piece is unknown, interpretations from art scholars and psychiatrists lean towards the idea of it depicting parent-child trauma; being cocooned by a suffocating figure that does not let you live freely. Some of these motifs are present in the lyrics, however dissecting the album title itself also gives us greater insight into the potential interpretation Andrew has for this work. The word “hema” is a prefix in Latin for blood and the word “sanctum” means a sacred place. Combined with what we already know about the album's concept, we can deduce that the album art, lyrics, and music are an exploration of the sacred blood ties we have with our family members and our own body.
The first song, “Incantation to Summon the Unstable” (depicting birth), opens with eerie organ samples layered over a child crying and unsettling gasps for air, before launching into a more death metal style song. The final song, “Hymn to Silence the Light” (depicting death), brings us full circle with a sorrowful guitar intro, a musical focus on black metal, and samples of a weeping woman. The remaining songs are said to be out of order in terms of a human’s timeline of experiences. Yet as a listener, the first half of the album seems to be more unrelenting and the later half more sorrowful. The standout track on the more death metal/unrelenting side of the spectrum is called “Turibulum” which ventures into more melodic territory with one of the best lead riffs on the album. The song blends the signature Andy Larocque heavy metal guitar leads with melodic death perfectly and features one of his two kick ass guitar solos of the album. The standout track on the more black metal/sorrowful side of the spectrum is called “Ash Like Anvils” and ventures into death doom territory. This song is probably the most dynamic of the album as it shifts between tempos many times; it even has a bass drop that opens up into a thrashy section which was very unexpected. In the vocals department, Andrew is able to create multiple expressions with his voice that are both clean and distorted; often sounding like there are multiple vocalists contributing to the songs. The use of vocal layering is used throughout the album to add depth to the lyrical delivery and extra texture to the song overall; this artistic choice is on full display on the track called “The Pounding of Hooves”. Here we hear vocals that are deep & ominous, spoken chants, and constrained mids, which when layered together create a powerful atmosphere of grandeur and evil.
In contrast to the debut album Plight of Acceptance, the production & mixing style has changed to be more polished. Considering both are mixed and mastered by Damian Herring, a shout out is in order for his ability to bring out different sounds from the same artist only a few months apart. More specifically, the vocals are more front and center, drums sound fuller and more dynamic, the rhythm guitar layer and bass sound less gritty, while the lead guitar layer pierces through to add great expression to the songs. Of course, with this sort of change there may be some fans that prefer the older style of production/mixing, however, that fight is minimal compared to the overall package improvement.
Hemasanctum is a worthy successor to The Mosaic Window’s growing discography that continues to build on the themes of familial horrors while continuing to experiment within the melodic death metal/black metal subgenre. Intentionality permeates every facet of the album including the artwork choice, tracklisting, and musical techniques used; making this a truly complete piece of art (in my opinion).
SCORE: 4 / 5
FFO: Necrophobic, Gates of Ishtar, Dissection
You can pre-order your physical or digital copy on The Mosaic Window Bandcamp today.
