Finally, the weekend is upon us. What better way to kick it off than with the latest installment of "Funeral Doom Friday". For those who are new to this column; each week features a new or classic album from the realm of extreme doom. Much of funeral/death doom's might comes from an oppressive emotional weight and the use of death or black metal motifs (played at a trudging pace, of course.)
Pioneers like Mournful Congregation, Evoken, and Esoteric have mastered this blend of dirge and destruction. For 25 years, they have methodically built compositions that stretch for dozens of minutes all while keeping fans enthralled. Time has elapsed since the days of Thergothon and much like the world around us, the genre has evolved. Today's modern bands contort the very construct of the genre, breeding darkly refreshing new work. Their work thankfully gives this column plenty of material to share.
Enjoy this week's post and check out prior features here. Please feel free to also share thoughts or suggestions for future installments in the comments section below or to me directly on Twitter.
I apologize for the radio silence last week. Sometimes, things come up in life and things become so busy that they are unmanageable. Nevertheless, we're back this week with some more funeral doom to discuss. The Maryland duo named Funerary Descent released a new EP back in April entitled Ov Chasms Beyond. This latest release follows a couple of demos they put out since their formation in 2012.
For the pair of Dread (guitar/vocals) and Blind (vocals/bass), the marriage of black metal and funeral doom is the cornerstone of their sound. Throughout Ov Chasms Beyond's 40-minute runtime, the ethos of acts like Xasthur and The Ruins of Beverast emerge. This is certainly the case on a track like "Sunderance Ov The King's Manor." Towering, almost monolithic, riffs reign over this 13 and a half minute monster. Black metal wails and touches of dark ambient music also surface. Yet, the best part of what bands like Funerary Descent do is showcase the emotive similarities between funeral doom and black metal. This is undoubtedly true for Ov Chasms Beyond.
Ov Chasms Beyond is available through Fólkvangr Records in cassette form. Digital versions are available from the band itself.
