Funeral Doom

The Crooked Whispers, Funeral Blues (Ripple 2023)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , ,

Occult doom band The Crooked Whispers have more dark stories to tell on their second album, Funeral Blues.

The Crooked Whispers first invaded our earspace in 2020 with their debut full-length album Satanic Melodies. The doom had an insidious quality you do not usually hear in this lane. The EP Dead Moon Night came next, and then the split Last Call From Hell with Fulanno. Each page added to their book was a new revelation, leading to the latest, Funeral Blues, which is the best so far. The band is Anthony Gaglia (vocals), Ignacio De Tommaso (bass, keys), Federico Ramos (guitar, keys), and Nicolás Taranto (drums).

“Suicide Castle” gets the darkness rolling on a wicked riff with evil intent. It is killer doom, constructed with corners and crags that cast deeper shadows. I was not ready for the vocals when they arrived, reaching out with clinging, hooked tendrils; a vile hiss. There is a rough turn in the middle that rolls the rhythm in a different direction, more at stride with possessed workmen loading corpses on a mossy barge. And then, suddenly, it all fades fast, making space for “Stay in Hell,” itself a walking nightmare. What is different about this doom music is the way that, somehow, story is embedded in the musical lines beyond the spoken narrative. That is to say, you can feel the concept before you ever hear any singing.

Every song creates its own indelible impression, without exception. I do have a sinister affection for the title track, where the hissing is especially ichorous and the guitars are particularly woesome. The cleaving chop of “Deathmaker” is enthralling, too, and “Crippled Shadow” is so haunting it will follow you into your dreams and continue to devil you there with its funereal enterprise. The final word is “Bed of Bones.” I hear this track as a sort of set stone for the entirety, bringing it all together. This record is a dark pleasure. Recommended.

Funeral Blues is out now through Ripple Music. Hit up the links below.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://thecrookedwhispers.bandcamp.com/album/funeral-blues

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/thecrookedwhispers

Ripple Music, https://www.ripple-music.com/

© Wayne Edwards

The Crooked Whispers, Funeral Blues (Ripple 2023)

Mesmur, Chthonic (Aesthetic Death 2023)

Wayne Edwards, , , , ,

The latest funeral doom journey from Mesmur is Chthonic.

The bleak narrative of Mesmur began just over ten years ago. Started as a side project, it is an entity that hosts an international cast of musicians and has produced three previous albums. Mesmur is Jeremy Lewis (guitar, synth), Michele Mura (bass), John Devos (drums), and Chris G (vocals). The recording also features viola and cello performances from Brianne Vieira and a guest organ spot from Kostas Panagiotou of UK funeral doom band Pantheist.

There are three primary tracks and a coda to the new set. “Chthonic (Prelude)” is a short, somber intro piece leading to “Refraction,” a ten minute reflection on tense, dark times. The funeral doom pace is set in stone. Steady, sure-footed percussion and harmonics glide over the uneven ground. The vocals are drawn out croaks, eerily melodic. The music fades in and out of deeper layers of mystery. “Petroglyph” can be seen as a companion piece, in a way. Trudging on a little longer than its predecessor, it continues, at first, along the same yaw. The music becomes more active and, I would say, more threatening – or perhaps it is a warning, indelibly placed. At the same time, the music is exquisitely beautiful across the middle arc. The ending turns deeply creepy.

The centerpiece of the album is “Passage,” running at nineteen minutes in length and covering time and space methodically. It is an immersion and, to get the most out of it, I suggest you approach it that way. Lie down, close your eyes, and think of nothing other than the music you are hearing. You will feel things; it will do things to you. The last track is “Chthonic,” and it is described as a coda, which it is – separate yet essential. My bleary ears might never be the same. Recommended.

Chthonic is out on Friday, April 14th on CD through Aesthetic Death. You can get it digitally at Bandcamp or through your favorite dispenser.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://mesmur.bandcamp.com/album/chthonic

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/mesmurdoom

Aesthetic Death, https://www.aestheticdeath.com/

© Wayne Edwards

Mesmur, Chthonic (Aesthetic Death 2023)

Woe Unto Me, Along the Meandering Ordeals, Reshape the Pivot of Harmony (M-Theory 2023)

Wayne Edwards, , , ,

Funeral doom band Woe Unto Me investigate sorrow on their third full-length album, Along the Meandering Ordeals, Reshape the Pivot of Harmony.

Woe Unto Me formed in Belarus in 2007. Their music is fascinating for the surprisingly variety of influences it reflects – after all, funeral doom does not often stretch out in many directions. One of the driving forces of Woe Unto Me, Artyom Serdyuk, describes the album this way: “Musically the new record is the continuation of our movement into more progressive realms of doom metal. This is not a typical funeral doom or death-doom, but it contains the elements of all kinds of doom metal sub-genres.” Indeed. The variety of vocal presentations alone is impressive and unmatched by other bands. Yes, this one is something different.

The album has five long tracks, all individually over twelve minutes in length. “Mired Down In The Innermost Thicket” – the title describes the music well. You do feel caught in the opening bars of the music, mired. You want to move, you are trying, but you are held down. Sorrow and sadness surrounds you, and that is why you want to get away, but then you can only see more sorrow in every direction. How much better off will you really be over there? The songs show off the vocal range of the group with melodic and rough vocalizations, spoken and sung emanations. It is a darkly beautiful piece. “Spiral-Shaped Hopewreck” brings melodic singing out first, and the pace is greater at the beginning than the previous track. Prog elements become clear in this one, and it has a genuinely haunting cooldown at the end. “Deep Beneath The Burden” walks an odd line, with lashing waves of sound pulsating all around such soft and gentle primaries. It mixes your feelings, leaving them all there individually and at the same time requiring them to relate to each other.

“Blood-Black Nothingness Stops Spinning” invokes notions of quest and spiritual deliberations. The music turns darker a few minutes in, and the permeating doom returns, as you knew it would. The final movement is “The Great Waste Of Withered Pipedreams.” To me, the music in this piece is the most actively menacing. It is unsettling, even frightening. The elements we have experienced before return, but they are armed differently, shrouded more darkly. I like every song on the album, and this last one is my favorite. The doom I hear on this record is different than what I am accustomed to, and its dark appeal will have a lasting impact. Highly recommended.

Along the Meandering Ordeals, Reshape the Pivot of Harmony is out on Friday, March 24th through M-Theory Audio. Have a look at the links below.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://woeuntome.bandcamp.com/album/along-the-meandering-ordeals-reshape-the-pivot-of-harmony

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/woeuntome

M-Theory Audio, https://www.m-theoryaudio.com/

© Wayne Edwards

Woe Unto Me, Along the Meandering Ordeals, Reshape the Pivot of Harmony (M-Theory 2023)

71TonMan, Of End Times (Transcending Obscurity 2023)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , ,

The title of 71TonMan’s new album is no exaggeration: Of End Times.

I got on board with 71TonMan late, with their EP from 2021, War Is Peace // Peace Is Slavery. Hearing it, I quickly went back and consumed everything else they had released – two full-length albums, 71TonMan (2013) and Earthwreck (2017), and a split. Doom is heavy by nature, of course, but this doom will sink you. The band is from Poland and its members are Daniel Jakub Kida (vocals), Tomasz Gardecki (guitar), Michał Zieleniewski (guitar), Jędrzej Wroński (bass), and Jakub Jankowski (drums).

There are four long tracks on the new record, each running about ten minutes. “Conquest” starts off with a sour squeal, leading into clanking percussion. Crushing funeral doom-paced riffs smash down and take over, withering any hope of escape. “Plague” takes a more rolling thunder kind of approach, a crashing waves sort of manifestation. It is a marching menace that brings the plague with it and spreads it to every corner of the land surveyed. This music cannot me negotiated with – it is going to do what it does.

Side two brings “War” and “Famine.” These two clearly go together, musically and in reality. Because you won’t have one without the other, which comes first is a matter of happenstance or intention … it doesn’t really matter. The vocals are like a choir that does not soothe, opting instead for grim truth. The final ten minutes of the set are the darkest and most dangerous, clawing away any comfort that somehow still remained. The music that came before sat on the event horizon and these final minutes are when you fall into the black hole where there is no escape. Highly recommended.

End Of Times is out on Friday, March 3rd through Transcending Obscurity Records. Touch the links below to explore the options.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://71tonmanband.bandcamp.com/album/of-end-times-sludge-doom-metal

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/71TonMan

Transcending Obscurity Records, http://transcendingobscurity.aisamerch.com/

FFMB review of previous 71TonMan EP, https://flyingfiddlesticks.com/2021/07/09/71tonman-war-is-peace-peace-is-slavery-transcending-obscurity-2021/

© Wayne Edwards

71TonMan, Of End Times (Transcending Obscurity 2023)

Cancervo, II (Electric Valley 2023)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , ,

Psychedelic stoner doom metal band Cancervo release their second full-length album, the humbly titled II.

Named after a mountain, Cancervo began in Lombardy, Italy in 2020. They have one previous long-player to their account, the equally unassuming I. This doom trio creates understated and darkly insinuating doom that is heavy by doom standards. There is not a ton of background info floating around about the band, so let’s get right into the music.

“Arera” is minimalistic doom metal with steady percussion and rhythm, haunting vocals, and deliberate lead guitar work in the second half. The musicians are putting it out there and letting the sonic vibrations mow you over. “Herdsman of Grem” has a funeral doom intonation to it. Thinking back, so did the opening song. Indeed, funeral doom is not a bad way to conceptualize the slow, titanic riff construction. The repetition of the primary bars sets the feeling in your bones so that you are better prepared for the forlorn guitar departure in the back half. “The Cult of Armentarga” continues the dirge, while “Devil’s Coffin” is almost speed metal by comparison, with its hop-along bass line. You cannot ignore the ritual elements to this music – it works on you in that chant-like way, a characteristic that sets this music apart from otherwise similar contemporary doom.

Side two has a pair of long songs, “Zambla” and “Zambel’s Goat.” The question of whether they are more closely related to each other than to the other songs in the set is perhaps moot. It is amazing how different an eight- or nine-minute songs can be compared to a five- or six-minute song – the extra couple minutes have a dramatic impact on compositional pacing. Even more than side one, the ritual nature of this music finds its way into more than your ears. The music soaks into you and, particularly on the closing track, entrances. After you hear this second album, listen to the first one … then come back and hear the new one again. You will be hooked. Recommended.

Cancervo’s second album is out now through Electric Valley Records. Check it out at the Bandcamp link below.

Band photo by Beatrice V. Gotti.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://cancervo.bandcamp.com/album/ii

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/cancervo

Electric Valley Records, https://www.electricvalleyrecords.com/

© Wayne Edwards

Cancervo, II (Electric Valley 2023)

Ahab, The Coral Tombs (Napalm 2023)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , ,

Extreme doom metal band Ahab drags you beneath the waves and shows you horrors on their latest album, The Coral Tombs.

It all began in Germany in 2004. Ahab arose. The music they create is typically categorized as funeral doom, but that does not capture it very well. I don’t dispute the description. I simply think that their music covers considerably more ground (or sea, as the case may be) than you might expect from the typical funeral doom band. Besides that, the narrative theme is specific and sweeping, especially on the new album, which is the fifth long-player from the band, marking their nineteenth year in existence. Ahab is Cornelius Althammer (drums, Daniel Droste (vocals, guitar), Christian Hector (guitar), and Stephan Wandernoth (bass).

“Prof. Arronax’ Descent Into The Vast Oceans” is a long story. It starts out shrieking, then goes suddenly dead quiet. A funeral doom pace ensues, but the music itself is more lyrical than you might expect for that genre. Enormous oppressive guitar riffs do slowly emerge, threatening to overwhelm the movement. Instead, there is a long guitar soliloquy. “Colossus Of The Liquid Graves” comes next and presents for all the world as a deep sea terror tale in sound and action. The vocal croak comes from a humungous beast at depth, and the clear singing that follows might be from a doomed soul. You start to feel an entrenchment of evil in this music, and it is a feeling that only deepens as you wind your way through the tracks that follow.

The first two songs put you through the wringer and there is still fifty minutes to go. Epic mysticism is in store for you on “Mobilis In Mobile,” and the drowning of hope is inevitable on “A Coral Tomb.” The writing might very well be on the seafloor but still there is no avoiding the magnificent conclusion voiced in “The Mælstrom.” The music is expansive, existing in a realm not often traversed by bands, no matter how heavy. Recommended.

The Coral Tombs is out now through Napalm Records. Press the links below to harvest it.

Band photo by Stefan Heilemann.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://ahab.bandcamp.com/album/the-coral-tombs

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/AhabDoom

Napalm Records, https://label.napalmrecords.com/ahab

© Wayne Edwards

Ahab, The Coral Tombs (Napalm 2023)

Azken Auzi, Azken Auzi (Argonauta 2023)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , ,

Sludgy doom band Azken Auzi release their self-titled debut.

Stationed in Toulon, France, Azken Auzi is a new band formed by musicians from other metal acts. Deciding they wanted a change of pace, they veered from death metal and noise toward atmospheric doom, frequently touching on funeral doom landscapes. Their new album is a deary delight.

“Disgrace” brings notes of fear to the beginning of the set. Slow and ominous, the lead-in sets up perfectly the gruff howls of despair that follow in the vocals. This is grim stuff, and unrelenting. “Azken Auzi” is up next, and it takes the music down a notch into funeral doom territory. Over the course of the song the tempo does pick up considerably, but the sentiment does not brighten. It is a thunderclap that keeps rolling. “I Hate You” is almost pleasant in comparison. The hopelessness and sorrow saturate the musical palate of this song as well, although here there is a sense of movement, an active sort of despair, you might say. Hate, after all, is actionable.

“Rho Scorpii” offers a sort of emotional parallax because the droning rhythm can set you down the path of darkness but there is also a reassuring known-ness to it as the song progresses. This is the sort of music that could go on for twenty minutes and you would still be hanging in there with it. “K.R.L.H.” is a graveyard dirge; lovely, drowning darkness. The pace turns after a while, and the narrative seems to switch toward a campaign – a path of intention. “Home” is the anchor and the longest track of the set. It has a tentative beginning that is clearly heading toward something else – change is in the air. This song is the most exploratory, and it covers the most ground. At the very end there is a bonus track, which is an alternate version of the title song. I appreciate the dark menace of this music and the dedication of the compositions to their purpose. Recommended.

Azken Auzi is out now through Argonauta Records. Get yours at the links below.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://azkenauzi.bandcamp.com/album/azken-auzi

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/azkenauzi

Argonauta Records, https://www.argonautarecords.com/

© Wayne Edwards

Azken Auzi, Azken Auzi (Argonauta 2023)

Arche, Transitions (Transcending Obscurity 2022)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , ,

Finland’s Arche present their first long-player, Transitions.

Arche is a two-piece funeral doom band comprised of E. Kuismin (guitar, bass, keys, vocals) and V. Raittila (drums, backing vocals). Their first recording was released in 2015, the EP Undercurrents. The earlier music is very memorable and impressive. Even so, the new album is a major step up in terms of composition and delivery. There are three songs on Transitions.

“Reverential Silence” builds anticipation with its gradual, self-assured entry. The music is not cavernous, but it is insular – like walking through a valley with steep cliffs on either side of you while the sky is open above … a dark sky. It is a beautiful lullaby to demise. Reassuringly wan in its final panels, the doom is delivered here with great elegance.

“Transition” is the shortest of the trio at six and a half minutes, and yet it carries nearly as much weight as its fellows. Quiet, almost tentative initially, the acoustic guitar that leads the way is enthralling in its sentiment. It is a virtuous intender but not necessarily a beneficent one. In other words, sometimes doing what must be done has terrible consequences.

“In A Solace Light” begins with a more familiar funeral doom framing. The massive riffs are softened a bit by their extensions, but they are not weakened. The tone is melancholy, deep and absolute. The vocals are disembodied, coming from nowhere and everywhere. Are they seeking or are they merely being? An absolutism could be applied in the cold distance, and that is perhaps where the throbbing truth lies. The dark beauty of this music is overwhelming. Recommended.

Transitions is out now through Transcending Obscurity Records. In the US, Bandcamp is a good place to pick up the album in its many forms, and the merch that goes along with it.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://archefin.bandcamp.com/album/transitions-atmospheric-funeral-doom-metal

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/archedoom

Transcending Obscurity Records, https://transcendingobscurity.aisamerch.com/

© Wayne Edwards

Arche, Transitions (Transcending Obscurity 2022)

Sinister Downfall, The Last Witness (Funere 2022)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , ,

Sinister Downfall adds to the funeral doom procession with The Last Witness.

Sinister Downfall is peopled entirely by Eugen Kohl. I do not come across one-man funeral doom bands very often – more commonly, singular acts are instantiations of black metal. It is the music that matters though, no matter how it is created. So far, Kohl has released two previous long-players under the Sinister Downfall banner, Eremozoic (2018) and A Dark Shining Light (2020).

There are five tracks on the new album, the shortest of which is eight and a half minutes long. That’s a good start. Of course, it is not merely the length of the track that matters, but doom and particularly funeral doom work well in the long form. “Souls Enslaved” begins with a forlorn piano heralding the inevitable crush of massive doom guitar riffs followed on the queue by equally heavy vocals. The invoked dread is palpable and sustained. It is wonderfully dark music. “Into The Cold Ground” continues the expression, opening up the piano in a more active role. You wouldn’t say that the song is a surprise, but it is a willful engagement. Side one ends on “Eyes Forever Closed,” and there is an escalation of the sentiment that peaks in the vocals, followed by a long cooldown and a crescendo for the finale.

The second half of the set is two quarter-hour pieces, “Marble Slab” and “The Last Witness.” Both of these songs could be stand-alone releases, soaked as they are in dark, hopeless beauty. I favor the former, and I have listened to it several times by itself after the album ran its course. This set is going in my library, and I will hear it again and again. I did not know about Sinister Downfall before hearing this album, but the music is now forever in my book of doom. Recommended.

The Last Witness is out now through Funere on CD and digital. Enter the realm through the links below.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://sinisterdownfall.bandcamp.com/album/the-last-witness

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/sinisterdownfall/

Funere, https://vk.com/funere

© Wayne Edwards

Sinister Downfall, The Last Witness (Funere 2022)

Estrangement, Disfigurementality (Aesthetic Death 2022)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , ,

Baroque funeral doom band Estrangement present their first full-length offering, Disfigurementality.

Estrangement is the creation of Australian musician JS, a multidisciplinary metal master. He incorporates baroque music with his metal premises, engaging the talents of other artists for the additional (non-metal) instruments such as double bass, violin, cello, piano, flute, and classical guitar. Add in guttural vocalizations and throat singing, and you have something new under the sun. This musical project has been active since 2010, releasing a demo and a split along the way. Disfigurementality is the first long-player by Estrangement.

“Destitution Stench” brings melancholy strings and a sorrowful, warning voice. It seems introductory at first, but really I think the song is better described as an invocation. “Detritivore” is the first track that gives you a clear view of what to expect for the rest of the album. Told at a funeral doom pace, the integration of grating, tortured vocals with strings, massive guitar riffs, percussion, and a flute is off in a direction you have never heard before, unless you have heard Estrangement.

There are slower, melodic movements throughout the set, like “Belong Beneath,” that have a soothing effect. Still, while you are hearing them, listening, you know that any moment the music will take a darker turn. Massive songs like “Womb of Worlds” and, especially, “Doppelganger,” are extensive journeys with rich, divergent constructions living together in both turmoil and harmony. I can hear this record as a funeral doom album, and I can also hear it as death metal. It is best just to admit that it isn’t any one thing, and take the trip for all it is worth. Recommended.

Disfigurementality is out on Friday, November 25th through Aesthetic Death. Find out more at the links below.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://estrangement.bandcamp.com/album/disfigurementality

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/estrangementdoom/

Aesthetic Death, https://www.aestheticdeath.com/

© Wayne Edwards

Estrangement, Disfigurementality (Aesthetic Death 2022)