Cryonics Records - 2000
7/10
It’s very rare that I stumble upon a one-off death metal album from 2000 by a band that never stuck around. Odds are, I would not have discovered Funereal had a tape reissue not been released in 2021, but here we have it. Having roots as far back as the late ‘80s, the U.S. Illinois group still didn’t even make any noise leading up to this album’s release. The Misery Season is the only record I could unearth, but thankfully it’s pretty serviceable.
Considering the technology of the time and the band’s small following, it’s pretty amazing how well The Misery Season comes through in terms of production. You could potentially date this, as much of the riffing borrows influence from the “groove” acts that dominated the ‘90s, fitting in with the likes of Divine Empire. Admittedly, the vocals can be a bit too throaty at times, also a common feature of this time period, but the lead guitar chops make it forgivable. Plus, there’s a very heavy bottom full of audible and compelling basslines to help cushion this.
From time to time, this can definitely drag a little more than needed in the longer tunes. “Confinement” really had no business utilizing the repetition in the beginning that it did, but thankfully once it gets going, things fold into a nice doomy rhythm. I’m not sure that I’d go as far as labeling Funereal with the doom/death tag, but the nods toward that direction are very clear. I personally prefer the tracks that follow a recognizable direct path, though. “Darkness Arise” has some tasty rhythms for sure, and I can’t overlook the neat chops in closer “Life Of Anguished.” Perhaps this isn’t anything too mind blowing, but if nothing else I can see it being a slight step towards the harcore-induced death metal that would blow up within a decade or so.
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