Funerary Bell : "Graveyard Seance"

Black metal when it takes its blast beats too seriously can become myopic. So to hear a band that does something different even by only a few degrees is what I need to feel like the genre is not getting stagnant. This Finnish band has way more rock to this band than I thought there would be , I'm not complaining these old classic metal riffs that get thrown in are pretty damn awesome. The riffs pick up the slack for the growled vocals to provide hooky melodies. Perhaps not harmonized and proggy to the extent that Iron Maiden is , but heading in that direction. In Solitude might be another reference point, though with low growled vocals instead of the Mercyful Fate mid range croon. The hit a slower groove when they chug their way into "Eleanor's Garden" a song that had been circulating on the Internet for some time. The have yet to release their second full-length so this ep is keep themselves out there til they finished it, how ever its not their first rodeo These guys have done their time in other projects like Verge, Nodian, Blood Red Fog and Charnel Winds.

 Metal drummers are supposed to be awesome , but this guy goes above and beyond to impress that point into you mind, with cyborg feet hammering the double bass. "Doctrina the Insulter" is another slower paced old school grinder of a song that captures almost a doom vibe.The vocals become more anguished here as well.Not sure at this point if it is even black metal as it pulse on a doomy drone, they owe more to the first wave of black metal than what came out of Norway in the Early 90s.

The blast to "Liberate Me" feels more death metal than black metal, similar to the cavernous roaring that Von brings forth. It is not as nuanced or dynamic as the previous songs, even with the hellish orgy that occurs in the songs final moments.But even with that it is not as compelling. They redeem themselves on"Eternal Coven". The riffs is doomier and rumbles like old Celtic Frost, as the low growl rumbles up from under the guitar. The bass and the guitar are hard to differentiate at this point in time. The pace picks up as the double bass drives them into a gallop, before the lurch back into a slower speed. If Arch Goat was more into classic metal then I suppose the results would be similar.I look forward to hearing what these guys can do when Saturnal Records releases their next  full length. This one gets off to a stronger start but over all is walking its own left hand path so I'll give it an 8.