Funeral
From These Wounds

A thick aura of drama envelops this fourth (and possibly final) full-length by the Norwegian band Funeral, and it's not just a purely artistic reference given the genre, but an acknowledgment of real-life events that have ultimately overwhelmed the band members before and after the recording of this remarkable "From the Wounds": we are talking about the deaths in 2002 and 2004 of then bassist Einar Fredriksen and historical guitarist (also present in the album under review) Christian Loos.

As you can easily grasp, these tragedies have shaped and further diverted the sound of the Norwegians, who have been on the scene for quite some time (early '90s, consider that their first LP "Tragedies" was released in 1995) and have produced a total of 7 releases, presenting us with a funeral doom (...and it couldn't be otherwise) but airy, intelligent as it is not excessively obsessive or compressed, capable of slowly evolving into melodic openings, sometimes acoustic, sometimes symphonic, all supported by a precise and incisive drumming like even the best Doktor Avalanche and by the power of the guitars, which can be sharp and moving even in the rare solo passages.

Well, what kind of voice would you expect on an extremely sulfurous funeral doom album? Perhaps a monstrous and expressionless growl (well, we are generous, let's say at least monotone), maybe with some clean vocals to soften it all, in short, something pertinent to the genre in question (see Swallow the Sun, Thergothon, Ahab and "adverse fate company"). Well, forget it, there is no trace of all this in "From these Wounds": the new singer Frode Frosmo, coming from Minas Tirith (ehm..., he must have a real passion for "The Lord of the Rings"), presents a deep voice, but while being melodramatic or evocative, never resorts to growl: he delivers an outstanding performance, which sometimes recalls something of the latest and insane Ulver, an almost Gregorian-style singing never banal or tiring, even delicate and always perfectly adherent to the musical fabric on which it stands.

As for the lyrics, written by the good Frode and guitarist Kjetil Ottersen, we can say that despair, disillusionment, the repetitive storytelling of the last hours of a man who knows he has to die (and perhaps here the past experiences we talked about at the beginning find a natural outlet) are by far the most addressed themes, often with notable fervor, reaching their expressive peak in the title track's lyrics, in which the phrase "Our psychopathic future is set, just learn to be tough" perfectly conveys the idea of the irreversible human condition dealt with throughout the entire song in question.

Regarding the purely technical side, we can definitely say that "From these Wounds" is an excellently produced work without any sort of blemish: the sound of the guitars is powerful, deep but always perfectly distinguishable, the more orchestral parts always pertinent and never merely filling, and the sound of the drums strongly resembles the drum machines of the dark/new wave late '80s, yet possessing an impact strength unknown to them.

If you feel like immersing yourself in a slow, long (all songs have an average duration of over 7 minutes), and sadly romantic journey, then mentioning individual tracks will no longer make sense, the entirety of the work will drag you into dramatic and evocative scenarios, you just have to close your eyes and let yourself be led to unknown places, perhaps having a single common factor, the Afterlife.

Happy introspection.