I love some dank, woolen, shambling and riff drenched Stoner Doom. Finland’s Funeral for Two’s self titled EP delivers exactly that in just two songs that are stretched over an ambitious 17 minutes.
“Sculpture of a Demon” opens with a slow, fuzzy call and response that smacks of genre stalwarts Windhand. The riff washes and repeats laying the foundation for the bass and drum to jump into the mix and bolster that preordained phrase. The vocals are frail and distanced, they sound like a last call for help from an exhausted adventurer lost and trapped in a cavernous grotto. It reveals a slight desperation and uneasiness. An otherwise rounded warm sound is juxtaposed against monotone and flat vocals giving the song a definable audio spectrum that Stoner Doom has a history of marking waypoints on.
The homages continue with “Forgotten Souls”. The second part of the driving riff is undeniably a nod to fuzz masters Monolord and more specifically “Empress Rising”. Funeral for Two does the sound justice and uses it well, it will however be hard for them to stake their flag in a claim of originality.
This is a great first outing that shows the band’s undying loyalty to a pre-established well documented style of music. Funeral for Two’s influences are unquestionable, but they produce a heavy sound that would do the greasiest of basement dwelling metalheads proud. Although not the most original two songs, the band seems to be passionate and having fun playing in the Stoner Doom genre and it comes through to the listener ears loud and unapologetically. This is a powerful jump out of the starting blocks for the band and it will be interesting to see if they can metamorphose the sound and make it more their own. I am a fan of both Windhand and Monolord, I think by default that makes me a fan of Funeral for Two. I am most excited to see them put their own twists on the music however.
Via: Inverse Records
Tracklisting:
- Sculpture of a Demon
- Forgotten Soul
