Finally, the weekend is upon us. What better way to kick it off than with the latest installment of "Funeral Doom Friday". For those who are new to this column; each week features a new or classic album from the realm of extreme doom. Much of funeral/death doom's might comes from an oppressive emotional weight and the use of death or black metal motifs (played at a trudging pace, of course.) Pioneers like Mournful Congregation, Evoken, and Esoteric have mastered this blend of dirge and destruction. For 25 years, they have methodically built compositions that stretch for dozens of minutes all while keeping fans enthralled. Time has elapsed since the days of Thergothon and much like the world around us, the genre has evolved. Today's modern bands contort the very construct of the genre, breeding darkly refreshing new work. Their work thankfully gives this column plenty of material to share.
Enjoy this week's post and check out prior features here. Please feel free to also share thoughts or suggestions for future installments in the comments section below or to me directly on Twitter.
Let's keep digging deep this week on Funeral Doom Friday. Last week featured the new demo from Sweden's Gravkväde, this week we're going next door to Norway. The one-man force of Solok is the mind behind the project of Geodaehan–which translates from Korean as "colossal." It is certainly a fitting moniker for the project as the 41-minute "Worldender" shows.
This single track comprises the entirety of Geodaehan's Demo II. Originally recorded in 2016, it now finally sees the light of day. A glacial-paced, jazzy beat opens up "Worldender," gentle cymbal hits and gritty bass line. Solok's vomitous growl soon emerges and morphs the track into an outright dirge. A listless ambiance carries much of the track's early moments, thanks in part to steady synths and guitars. The piece ebbs and flows through gentle currents of noise or heightened sections of death/doom.
"Worldender" inevitably comes full circle around the 24-minute mark. The jazzy tone that started the piece resurfaces as the latter half of the track ominously builds towards its final 12 minutes–which is where everything changes. Solok's funeral doom becomes drum-and-bass driven death metal, only for a relatively brief while. The track's final moments see a spiraling out with the help guitar feedback and noise effects.
It is, of course, great to see Geodaehan return to funeral doom. It was just a few years ago when Solok generated a ton of buzz with his 2015 demo. His newest effort is a worthy continuation of the piece that garnered a lot of initial excitement for the project. Should a physical release surface, Funeral Doom Friday will be sure to let the world know. For now, listen to "Worldender" and pick up a digital copy of it for whatever you feel like paying on Bandcamp. Be sure to listen to the previous demo as well.
