Of Blood and Mercury- The other side of death album review
The only constant in life is change. This is something that we’ve been accustomed to quite a bit in the past year and a half or so. We’ve all been forced by circumstances to evolve, to adapt and grow in order to overcome adversity. The field of music was no exception to this, and a great example are Michelle and Olivier, better known as „Of Blood and Mercury”. With each hailing from other well known musical projects such as Batsheeba and Emptiness we were already curious as to what new sound we’d get with this new work. 
Their unique musical project released their debut album titled „Strangers” back in 2020, with great reception. We can safely say that it was one of last year’s standouts in our book. Now, more than a year later, we see the release of their second album titled „The other side of death”.
Initially created for and performed live at this year’s online edition of Roadburn Festival, this new work managed to peak our interest from the get-go.
Further building on the strong foundation of sound from their first album, „Strangers”, we continue to see their growth as artists, delving deeper into themes of life, death, and beyond in „The other side of death”.
We softly take our first step and we immediately get pulled into the mystifying atmosphere of the album right from the first song, titled „I am all there is”, posing questions about the very nature of reality and a never-ending cycle of death and rebirth.
Continuing on a much darker note, „The Moment” explores grim themes of futility, fleeting time, followed by the inescapable result of death.
„Hell will be born in this dim place that men call earth”.
Darkness awaits, and the only thing enduring will be the memories of ourselves. Memories which will eventually fade as well with the passing of time.
As we move on, we greet death in
„Walk the void” in a different, more poetic light, learning that it has been a part of ourselves from the very beginning, resting within. The wind engulfs us and shares whispers of finality, the river runs and we surrender ourselves to its flow, waiting calmly to reach its end. „Death waits inside our bones”
„Shadowy Waters” – is probably the song with the saddest lyrics; and the melancholic tones of Michelle’s voice, beautifully depicting the shadows that drag the wonders of nature to their ghostly forms. The wonder of two people, maybe two lovers which shared a lifetime but who are now slowly fading to the end: „our paths might seem chaotically winding (but in the end it’s a straight path to death)” . One thing becomes exactly torn in two and each is left incomplete, on its own.
The last track is the one that actually gives the name of the album: „The Other Side of Death”. A beautiful reflection of an ending, an agonizing suffering of one’s soul and daily existence. Within a blink of an eye we will all be dissolved because „death comes to us all and we will not be deprived from that right”.
As the music flowed and the more we immersed ourselves into the story it weaved with each song, we were simply left feeling goosebumps. We wholeheartedly reccommend that you listen, close your eyes and experience this album for yourselves.
„The other side of death” is unmistakably a labor of passion, finely wrought with care and personal touches, taking us on an emotional, trance-like journey and exploring aspects of both light and darkness.
Photos by David Fitt, Kasia D. and Ivan Galasse.
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