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.
Sometimes, Funeral Doom Friday strays from its original purpose of bringing the best the genre has to offer. I will be the first one to admit it. It is always for a great reason though. There exists a vast world of extreme and experimental doom metal out there. With this sort of platform, the column simply cannot pass on the opportunity to share something unique. Such is certainly the case today. Czechia's Et Moriemur does indeed carry shades of funeral doom in their music. Yet, their dirge is met with death and black metal in various moments.
Take "Sanctus" for example. The penultimate track on their upcoming third full-length album, Epigrammata, blends these three genres wonderfully. Throughout the course of "Sanctus," they appear at various times in rather majestic manners. An early death/doom tone—rife with gothic guitar styling and guttural growls—pours out from the first minute of the track. Soon after, Gregorian chants and ivory keys emerge and occupy much of the track's meat. It is these moments that really separate the track from bands who employ similar black/death/doom music. The final minutes of the song close on shrill vocals and cleaner tremolo picking. It puts a nice, pseudo-blackened bow on "Sanctus."
Et Moriemur undoubtedly delivers an exciting piece of music and the same could be said about the rest of Epigrammata. The band sings their lyrics in Greek and Latin, the album has numerous guests that contribute in various ways. The whole thing arrives on March 20 through Transcending Obscurity Records. In the meantime, listen to "Sanctus" below and check out other tracks from Epigrammata on Et Moriemur's Bandcamp page. Find the band on Facebook as well.
