Following an EP and a single, Death-Doomers FUNERAL LEECH have their debut full length album set to cause morbid destructive misery. Out now via Carbonized Records.
Abrasive samples set in the foreboding mood for the heavyweight assaults ahead, simply but effectively. Bleak piano soon joins to further this doomy mood, certainly encapsulating the feeling of a “downpour” as the title suggests. A growl and Bolt Thrower style melodic, yet crushing riffs soon cascade forth like the rains of hell with a masterful yet still rather primal concoction of brilliant riffs and built up drums. Churned out with a disdain and doomy approach that is indeed meditative, again signalled to by a title (this time of the record itself).
Grisly riffs and some utterly fantastic drums continue to provide a militant background to the spewed, bellowing growls of the vocalist in morbid Death Metal fashion, of monolithic and monstrously heavy proportions I might add. Alongside the riveting Death Metal warfare, the Doom Metal elements give the record this dragging feeling akin to that of some Funeral Doom bands, while never lacking the deathly punch of macabre extremity. There is definitely a familiarity to this sound, something I welcome as it is a killer, crushing intonation of Death Metal from the 90s with bands like Decomposed from England springing to mind, alongside the obvious Bolt Thrower references and a touch of Autopsy.
Slow Death Metal can often feel like it has lost the bite that the genre has become so renowned for, however Funeral Leech do a stellar job of keeping this aggressive, if in a rather more haunting fashion. Superb musicianship and a crystal clear production value certainly make this some more accessible Death Metal as opposed to some of the more unhinged leanings of so called “Cavern Death”, definitely giving the band a wider appeal for better or worse, that is down to the listener to decide. All the same, this is a crushing and obliterating slab of mighty, glorious Death Metal excellence, packed with enough Doom Metal to keep the spectral affair fuelled by a ravenously dark atmospheric side.
Overall, though it may be nothing entirely new to my ear, this record is a devastatingly heavy, drawn out and mesmerising listen that harkens back to the hay-day of Death Metal getting a far more dynamic approach in the 90s. Funeral Leech certainly nail this style to near perfection and offer a truly magnificent record that certainly impresses as the bands first full length. -8/10
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