“Metal is full of niche genres, and within that sphere, doom metal is full of unique variations. Funeral doom, doom metal’s basement-dwelling offspring, is as impenetrable a metal genre as some of the nastiest bands in the business. Trudging, droning song structures, distorted, bellowing vocals, and (as the genre tag suggests) the vibe of being at a funeral can make for a taxing listen on a good day.” Oh, promising.
“It’s a tricky business being the only remaining original member of a band more than thirty years after its creation. I don’t know how many members you have to replace before you’re in Ship of Theseus Paradox territory, but surely Anders Eek is there with his long-running Norwegian doom outfit Funeral. I suppose it’s one thing if the last remaining OG is the vocalist, since the human voice, unfairly or not, will always be the default through-line. It almost doesn’t matter what the music is doing, if the voice is familiar, it’s easy to say “See? It’s the same band.” But Anders Eek is not the vocalist. He’s the drummer.” Stepping over the bodies of the past.
“2024 hasn’t been the greatest year for doom thus far save for Crypt Sermon’s massive missive. I find myself largely swimming in the death and trad swamps, but I crave big, molar-rattling doom to round out my unhealthy listening regime. Fortunately, Greek funeral doom act Föhn have arrived to help with their mammoth debut Condescending. Borrowing from acts like Esoteric and Ataraxie, Föhn deliver monolithic long-form compositions of lumbering grimness with enough sheer mass to crush a steel factory. But rather than merely recycle the same old sounds, the band adds their own unique flair by incorporating manic, unhinged saxophone blasts that sound like they escaped from a Sigh album only to get locked in the Gimp Box in Imperial Triumphant’s sax dungeon.” Sax after death.
April Filters are rain-soaked and muddy but we got em’ real clean. Validate our hard work!
“Like so many things doomy, Hamferð doesn’t move quickly. Back in ’18, these Faroese doomsters—fronted by my golden voiced arch-nemesis and all around begrudging ‘friend o’ the blog’ Jón Aldará—released their second album Támsins likam.” I heaped love and adoration upon it and them. And given my history of fickle tastes that shift like the wind, one can only assume that I hate the followup, right?
“People call funeral doom boring, and I get it. It’s very slow, often very long, not particularly technical, and contains few riffs per minute. Its compositions are not ordinarily gym-friendly, or headbangable. But good funeral doom is good. Crushing, transportive, and at times incredibly beautiful, as the low, slow and leaden is partnered with rising, floaty, ethereal melodies. Think Shape of Despair, Clouds, Esoteric. All this to say, that the best funeral doom is that which balances its punishing heaviness and crawling tempos with clean, graceful melodiousness in order to produce something truly immense. Blazar, Spanish funeral doom/sludge gang have a different philosophy.” Angry burial.
“In the frenzied ritualistic worship of the god Dionysus, acolytes would often perform the violent act known as Sparagamos—tearing limb-from-limb a sacrificial animal, or human. What ecstatic human hands would enact, Spectral Voice conjures in their sophomore bearing its moniker, their attempt to reach “the moment in which – through sacrifice – atavistic wildness is unleashed, and the ultimate exaltation of life through death is realized.”” Giving voice to the void.
![The Howling Void – Into Darkness Ever More Profound [Things You Might Have Missed 2023]](https://www.angrymetalguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/The-Howling-Void_01.jpg)
“The Howling Void is a one-man project from San Antonio Texas. Into Darkness Ever More Profound is their seventh album and first in four years. I haven’t delved deeply into the rest of the catalog, but the prevailing sound is atmospheric funeral doom. There are flirtations with more folksy elements and instrumentation, but the vibe is always slow and introspective.” Rage against the Void.
“There was a time, not long ago, when I would’ve proclaimed myself an avid Slow fan. That was before I claimed the rights to cover the Belgian funeral doom duo’s ninth album, Abîmes I. All this time, I had no idea Slow was so productive. In retrospect I don’t know why this surprised me, considering the prolific multi-instrumentalist Déhà is the project’s mastermind. Furthermore, I had no idea Slow spawned all the way back in 2007. My complete negligence regarding Slow’s origins and extensive back catalog qualifies me as the quintessential “false fan.” But rest assured, once I’m done with this write-up for Abîmes I, I’m catching up post haste.” Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast.
“In the wretched realms of death metal, Finland’s Lauri Laaksonen is a known commodity. After a five-year stint in Sear, LL, as he’s credited on most liner notes, founded the beastly Desolate Shrine in 2010. We here at AMG have for the most part fawned in a most undignified manner over that project’s output. On the strength of that discography alone, LL could hold his head high among his most celebrated death metal contemporaries. But his impact on the genre doesn’t end there. Since 2018, LL has released some of the very finest slabs of demoralizing deathly doom in recent memory through his band Convocation.” Dark days in Finland.
