When it comes to funeral doom, things are pretty easy, the way I see it: you either love it or hate it, there is no in-between. This extreme musical genre has the advantage that it can only be enjoyed (strange way to put it) when you are in certain moods, that way you can fully embrace its darkness. This genre is repetitive, slow as fuck, addictive but at the same time it can also be very scary.
The above applies of course to the Swedish group The Funeral Orchestra, which is one of the best bands of this genre. In 2003 they released their first full length, “Feeding the Abyss“, followed by several EPs and splits, but the second album failed to materialize…until now.
To my surprise, after 17 years, the band finally delivered in 2020 their long awaited sophomore album, “Negative Evocation Rites“. Preceded by the “Negative Evocations EP“, released digitally in May this year, the full length came out on the 1st of June in several formats released by different labels (Ablaze Prod for the CD, Nirucon Prod for the tape version and NWN for the LP). While the LP and the CD contain four tracks, the tape version has 2 tracks from the aforementioned EP plus one more song, “The Afterlife Portal“, as bonus material.
To make it clear from the start, this album is definitely not for everyone. If you like fast music with memorable riffs and choruses, then you need to look elsewhere. However, if you like your coffee black, then this stuff’s definitely for you. With this release, The Funeral Orchestra took things a bit further and sank even deeper into the well of desperation and hopelessness. Their approach on doom metal has been wrapped in some blackened clothes while the atmosphere on the record got even gloomier than before. The droning guitar riffs and the obsessively slow drum patterns maximize the apocalyptic view the band has on life and existence in general. The main feeling I get when I listen to this record is that everything collapses around me and buries me under this enormous weight of abysmal desperation that slithers out of the speakers.
Under the moniker Priest I – II – III, the three Swedish musicians create with “Negative Evocation Rites” a long and sorrowful symphony in IV acts meant to feed your blackened heart with the hope of death. The minimal approach the band uses on these songs only enhances the whole misery this music (and album) are about.
While the instruments follow their monotonous lines (those drums are absolutely crushing), the vocal specter is quite varied, alternating between raspy black metal-ish tones and cavernous incantations to spoken parts and lamenting sighs. The band uses whatever means necessary to create an impossible atmosphere that can suffocate the listener during the whole duration of the record which, by the way, is surprisingly short, (only 41 minutes), compared to other albums of the same genre or even to some modern black metal “masterpieces”.
This review would not be complete without mentioning the beautiful album cover, created by Serpent Above, which goes hand in hand with the music. The greenish colors perfectly enhance the desolate underground tunnel the faceless figures walk through. This cover can also very well represent the trials and the experiences the listener goes through during this whole (musical) journey that is “Negative Evocation Rites“.
After listening to this new album multiple times, I strongly believe that the 17 years between the two albums have been beneficial for The Funeral Orchestra, as this sophomore album is definitely their best work so far. During all these years of experiments the band has tested, found and finally put together the best elements which helped create such a monstrous piece of doom metal.
It is summer and it is extremely hot. Everything melts around you, including your hopes and dreams. Everything is slower in the scorching heat. Even the music. So let The Funeral Orchestra play.
The Funeral Orchestra – Negative Evocation Rites track list:
1. Negative Evocations
2. Flesh Infiltrations
3. Negations I
4. Negations II
The Funeral Orchestra line-up:
Priest I – guitars/vocals
Priest II – bass/vocals
Priest III – drums
Band contact:
https://thefuneralorchestra.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/thefuneralorchestra/
https://www.instagram.com/thefuneralorchestra/
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