Welcome metalheads! Thanks to a new partner we were sent some low & slow doom which puts it right in Old Man Feind’s wheelhouse. If I have to tell you this is considered funeral doom then the band truly did a poor job naming themselves…
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The Band:
I.L. Guitar/Throat E.G. Guitar J.A. Vocals P.B. Bass S.M. Percussion |
Funerary – Starless Aeon
Released: August 12th 2014
Label: Midnight Collective / Sentient Ruin Laboratories
From: Phoenix, AZ
Released: August 12th 2014
Label: Midnight Collective / Sentient Ruin Laboratories
From: Phoenix, AZ
Track Listing:
Coerced Creation
Atonement
Beneath The Black Veil
Starless Aeon
Depressor
Coerced Creation
Atonement
Beneath The Black Veil
Starless Aeon
Depressor
Feind’s Thoughts…
Skerry Coast In Sotenaes Sweden
Since last week ended up being Hump Day Melodeth Day maybe today can be Hump Day DOOM Day! I have a couple recent releases I have been wanting to get to because both are, I know I’m spilling the beans early here, freaking fantastic and luckily not exactly the same. This first one made both Cult and I smile a bit since Funerary as it turns out are from The Scribblers’ backyard so to speak (now that Feind is comfortably an Arizonan) in Phoenix, AZ. Honestly, when most think of doom metal they think of places where it’s cold and dark but for me there is nothing that makes me think of hot summer days more than doom. I don’t know why that’s just the way my warped mind works. So let’s take a look at this doom from the sunniest of places…
Right from the get go Funerary had me thinking of St Louis, Missouri’s Fister mainly from a vocal standpoint. Musically, Funerary play their doom lower, slower and more wickedly evil though. They also do something that is almost strange for a band of this vein in that of the five awesome tracks only two are over the normal doom length of ten minutes with the other three being about five minutes long or less. Fret not doom fans you’ll never even notice as Funerary’s shorter tracks are almost agonizingly slow without ever drifting into drone territory which is a good thing since drone just puts this Scribbler to sleep. On Starless Aeon you get five tracks that may just drive you insane as they definitely live up to the album title making you feel isolated while floating through one dark as hell Starless Aeon (that is with Satan whispering in your ear the whole time that you should just end it all). Trust me this is such a damn good thing!
Beware the wave of DOOM!
The bleak and desolate tone begins right from the opening note of Coerced Creation and is just unrelenting for the following (approximately) 34 minutes. That seems awfully short for a doom album but trust me this one easily feels like it is hours long and I mean that in a good way. The second track, Atonement, is nearly the shortest at just under four minutes but feels at least twice that long or more making it possibly my favorite track of the album. I say possibly because there is just so much to love on Starless Aeon. The combination of screeched and low growl vocals adds a layer of depth to the abyss you feel like you’re just sinking deeper and deeper into as you the album plods along. The tracks drift one to the next seamlessly so the album truly feels like one gigantic epic track which is a feat many aim for and fail miserably.
Beneath The Black Veil is an epic eleven and a half minute track that has the abyss you’re falling through crushing you to nothing. It also happens to be a fitting title and one I can see myself stealing at some point for some dark, grisly tale of sheer hopelessness. I know most find this type of music “depressing” but maybe because I’ve battled depression through the years it has the complete opposite effect on me. This album isn’t going to make you feel like you’re running through fields of butterflies but even as desolate as this album feels I can’t help but think of sitting outside with the sun on my face, a cold one in one hand and probably something stinky smoking away in the other. The title track and closing track, Depressor, do nothing to assuage my opinion. Starless Aeon gives you the feeling of falling through a deep, dark abyss all the way to hell itself and this Scribbler for one smiled all the fucking way down!
I already spoiled this one early by telling you I love it but I’m not dumb enough to think this is an album for everyone, probably not even all doom lovers. What I can say is this album was every bit as good as the Morbid Evils album I reviewed a little while back. These albums should give you the feeling of complete and total isolation but I’m a writer so I live in fucking isolation. The only thing really left to do is wait impatiently for Funerary to make another album though it could be tough to top this debut. Not everyone can get into the slow plodding riffs of doom but I’ve found once it hooks you those hooks just continue to sink in deeper and deeper with you begging for more the whole time. If you love an existential look into the depths of the abyss itself then Funerary are for you. I’ve already added this album to my writing playlist and that’s as high a praise as I can give to anything. What dark chunk of horror this album will pull out of me is yet to be seen but I can guarantee this one will inspire many of my tales directly and indirectly. Find a nice big tree to sit under because this is one you absolutely must...
SPIN IT IN THE PIT!!
A Hellish 4 out of 5 Horns Up!
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What do you think metalheads? Enjoy some heavy as a pack of elephants on your back slow doom? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.
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