I have to say I admire the minimalism of Funeral Doom Metal bands. Notes played with in such slow way tend to be more emotional, if you know what I mean. Just take a look at the songs’ titles and see how minimum they are. I do not know if I would be so redundant if I said I see some kind of beauty in their music. I have to say that I am not exactly a fan of Funeral Doom, but all the nuances that Evoken delivered with “Mendacium” got me by the guts.
Well, the album is presented by “Matins,” a typical doomy track that, however, experiments some unexpected shifts in the drumming. They are almost a solo inside the music without being in effect one. The same thing happens with the guitars’ interventions that outstand the expected. They bring some kind of bright to the somber atmosphere of the song. The great thing about Evoken‘s music is the unexpected bright that some instrumental interventions provoke as the piano at the end. That’s exactly the dark beauty I aforementioned. Then comes “Lauds” with its very interesting main guitar riff. But, why interesting? Because it sounds as if a very known, and used, guitar riff, but performed in a slow, very slow way. Again, the shifts the song turns are the most attractive thing of it. It is like the band saying ‘We’ll give the fan a reason to stay listening to the song.’ But the best happens with the instrumental and short “Prime” with its Mediterranean inspired acoustic guitars to be more than a bridge to the following “Terce,” the doomiest track of the album for some time. It’s also the track with the most amazing shift in tempo and cadence. By its end the band gas it up maybe trying to sound a little Death Metal
Ok, I said I am not so found of Funeral, but “Mendacium” made me think it over. So many nuances and finesses that made me rethink my opinion. It was also the hidden, maybe involuntary, somehow crooked beauty that got me.
Evoken “Mendacium” will be relased on October 17th via Profound Lore Records.
Track Listing:
Watch “Matins” official music video here:
I’m just a lucky guy who has chosen metal to live with for a long time. Metal changed my life for good. It made me more confident and stronger. Metalheads are naturally far away from the mass mediocrity and don’t accept impostures from anybody else. Metal is more than music, it’s a life changing oportunity!