It says a lot when my first instinct writing a review is to just say "wow" and leave it at that. This is the fourth Funeral album (the Norwegian Funeral, not the other 6 bands called that) and the first one I ever heard. On investigation it should be no surprise this is awesome, considering members of the awesome Fallen also make up part of Funeral, who play a similar, if not so drawn-out brand of Doom.
Like Fallen, this album is built on crushingly heavy and achingly beautiful riffs that are both heavy and melodic at once. There's not as much of a keyboard presence as I expected on this album, and less of an orchestral feel, but oh man those riffs. The vocals of Frode Forsmo are not harsh, but rather a haunting baritone that calls to mind a better version of Paul Kuhr from Novembers Doom. Despite a lack of mention, I'm sure that I hear former Fallen vocalist Kjetil Otterson doing backing vocals, as his bass rumblings are pretty distinctive. I'm groping for words here, because this album is so amazing, it's hard to describe it in simple words. I had never heard of Funeral before I heard this, and now I hope they live long enough to make more music (two of their members have committed suicide in the last few years: Bassist Einar Fredriksen in 2003 and guitarist Christian Loos in 2006) though I don't see how they could top tracks like "The Barren Skin", "Red Moon" or the awe-inspiring "Vagrant God". This is the most depressive and yet beautiful album I have ever heard. Amazing.
