The Funeral Doom Metal Thread

I am long due an update to my top ten funeral doom releases, so let's go:

1. Esoteric - A Pyrrhic Existence (2019)

2. Evoken - Quietus (2001)

3. Ahab - The Call of the Wretched Sea (2006)

4.Bismuth - The Slow Dying of the Great Barrier Reef (2018)

5. Tyranny - Tides of Awakening (2005)

6. Bell Witch - Mirror Reaper (2017)

7. Esoteric - The Maniacal Vale (2008)

8. Ataraxie - Le déclin (2024)

9. Skepticism - Lead and Aether (1997)

10. Colosseum - Chapter 2: Numquam (2009)

#1 & #2 have swapped places from last time, as have #4 & #5. Ataraxie's latest, "Le déclin", swooping in has seen Worship's "Last Tape Before Doomsday" drop out of the ten.

Mournful Congregation - "Weeping" demo (1994)

This early funeral doom demo absolutely blew me away when I first purchased it from the band back at the time of release & it still marks the high point for the entire subgenre as far as I'm concerned. I was tape trading with these Adelaide dudes at the time & found it almost impossible to believe that this material was coming from a few kids in such an unlikely location. "Weeping" is the very definition of doom, combining the incredible harmonies of early Anathema & Cathedral with the deeper & even more depressive atmospherics of Thergothon & Skepticism. The minimal production is perfectly suited to the material with the down-tuned guitar tones of Damon Good (Cauldron Black Ram/Martire/Misery's Omen/StarGazer/VoidCeremony) & Ben Petch allowing some utterly breath-taking twin-guitar doom riffs to reverberate throughout your body. The performances aren't perfect & the transitions could still do with some work but the quality in the song-writing is nothing short of incredible & is easily able to overcome those minor flaws with the deep death growls of Nick Hansen beautifully portraying the pain in the lyrics. I'm sure you all know that I rarely gush this hard but "Weeping" is honestly a top ten metal release for me personally & is one of the most rewarding underground gems you'll ever find. If you can't deal with the plodding tempos of most funeral doom metal then I'd steer well clear of this one though. It's as sombre & downtrodden as they come.

For fans of Ahab, Thergothon & Skepticism.

5/5

Here's my adjusted Top Ten Funeral Doom Metal Releases of All Time list:

01. Mournful Congregation - "Weeping" demo (1994)

02. Esoteric - "The Maniacal Vale" (2008)

03. Esoteric – “Paragon of Dissonance” (2011)

04. Shape of Despair - "Monotony Fields" (2015)

05. Esoteric – “Metamorphogenesis” (1999)

06. Esoteric - "A Pyrrhic Existence" (2019)

07. Ahab - "The Call of The Wretched Sea" (2006)

08. Esoteric - "The Pernicious Enigma" (1997)

09. Evoken – “Atra Mors” (2012)

10. The Howling Void – “Shadows Over The Cosmos” (2010)

https://metal.academy/lists/single/132

Thergothon - "Stream From The Heavens" (1994)

Unlike most fans of funeral doom metal, I was lucky enough to have encountered the birth of the subgenre in real time, having developed a strong fascination with the slowest extreme metal moments through bands like Winter & diSEMBOWELMENT during the early 1990's & then picking up Thergothon's early works in my quest for ever more downtrodden & disparaging forms of doom metal. It's fair to say that "Stream From The Heavens" had a noticeable effect on me when I picked it up through my tape trading network around the time of release too & it worked to further enhance my already insatiable hunger for this type of music. In fact, I can vividsly recall feeling some level of justification upon first encountering Thergothin because I'd been telling myself that slowing things down to the lowest tempos imaginable would work & I'd now found that it did. That's not to say that I've ever felt that Thergothon's sole full-length was a classic release though because it's not. There are simply too many flaws with it to warrant those sort of claims & the subgenre has gone on to much greater heights since, even later in 1994 when Mournful Congregation would release their "Weeping" demo which was heavily inspired by the early Finnish works & would take things up a good couple of notches from what you'll find here. The production job isn't great & it would have been nice if the Fins could have kept the higher register guitar parts in tune with each other. The clean vocals can be a bit flat & dreary too while those croaky death growls aren't always brilliant & the keyboards & acoustic guitars can sound a bit naff at times. You can't deny the unique atmosphere Thergothon manage to build though & those crushingly heavy doom riffs still reverberate through my headphones with great power & majesty. There's no doubt that you have to hear this one if you have even a passing interest in funeral doom metal.

For fans of Skepticism, Mournful Congregation & Evoken.

4/5