There’s been a bit of change at Funeral.
Since their last release in 2021, Anders Eek (drums, Fallen), Rune Gandrud (bass, ex-Mistur) and Sareeta (violin, Ram-Zet, God Of Atheists) have welcomed Eirik P. Krokfjord (vocals, ex-Sarpedon), Stian Kråbøl (guitar, Minas, Kråbøl, Tulus, ex-Sarke, ex-Khold) and Tom Alexander Trones (guitar/vocals), with whom they have composed Gospel of Bones, their seventh album, released via Season of Mist.
André Aaslie (Abyssic, Profane Burial) recorded the keyboards for this album before leaving the band. Espen Ingierd (Two Trains, ex-Beyond Dawn) is also credited on vocals.
The album opens with the solemn Too Young to Die, where Eirik’s imposing vocals join a very calm, soothing instrumental, eventually creating a duet with Kari Ulfsnes Kleiven, then with backing vocals that fuel the track’s eerie aspect. The melancholy fades on the final, then revives with Yestertear, where the vocalist leads the heavy advance through the heady harmonics, discovering the various instruments and harmonics on his way into the darkness. The track is relatively short compared to the others, giving way to Procession of Misery, which immediately becomes more imposing and anguishing, blending heaviness and grandiose tones to adorn its Gothic-influenced Doom. There are still a few slightly rougher, livelier passages, but the strings lead us into These Rusty Nails, where the jerky, mournful approach is perfectly matched by the haunting, ceremonial moments reinforced by the saturation. The band do allow us a moment’s respite with the short Ailo’s Lullaby, where the violins respond to each other, then it’s back to the gentleness of My Own Grave, encountering here and there moments of floating between two waves of saturation in the colors of pure sadness. A final surge takes us to To Break all Hearts of Men, revealing a strange and unusually serene voice that walks alongside slow riffs, alternating with the usual vocal parts before transforming into a duet for the final section that gives way to Når Kisten Senkes, where apathy is once again the order of the day. The lively solo creates an interesting contrast, but the rhythm returns to its cruising rhythm, but the musicians maintain the heady aspect with repetitive sounds before tolling the knell and surrendering to silence. Three Dead Men brings the album to a close, with all the voices dancing together in the dreary atmosphere, adding a touch of macabre life to the hieratic atmosphere, before finally watching it fade away in a whisper.
Funeral‘s new ceremony allows the band to continue their slow, melancholy ascent, but with relatively new elements. Gospel of Bones is at times very different from previous albums, but its haunting basis remains hypnotic.
85/100