Funeral Throne – Nihil Sine Diabolvs
There was once a time when England pioneered metal music. From Black Sabbath to Iron Maiden to Venom such bands were the cutting edge of the underground. Then, as extreme music progressed and Black Metal’s second wave rolled in England was swept away with the tide.
I know Cradle of Filth were about and I’ll even admit to enjoying their first album, but these days we refuse to acknowledge that CoF come from England as vehemently as a turbo Nazi denies the holocaust!
After inventing the whole genre, in a typically English fashion, we let our BM fall to ruins. Parched and cracked it has festered for the better part of 15 years until the black droplets of recovery have moistened the fertile darkness once more. With the recent explosion of BM on the web thanks to Myspace, English BM has seen a couple of decent bands materialise. Funeral Throne are the best!
The lengthy intro curls out with some agony screams and a quality dark riff which gathers pace nicely and then drops into the first song ‘Dark Moon Ritual’. Its a good opener but doesn’t prepare you for the 8 minutes of ‘Curse Of Insomnolence’ which is my favourite.
It showcases what they’re capable of shows meritous talent in all areas. Although not apparently immediately, the whole album and the song take a few listens to grab you but once it does you’ll appreciate the quality.
There are numerous passages to it held together by the re-surfacing of one particular riff a few times and until you’re familiar with it you’ll keep thinking a new song has begun. The drumming sounds class with great fills and tempo changes and really opens up like a nest of MG-42’s mowing down American troops. ‘Black Revelations Of A Victorious Apocalypse’ is a medium pacer laced with grimness and influence.
To my ears there’s subtle nods to some great bands both past and present, Iron Maiden especially, with an ‘Ancient Mariner’ bass section. There is a large mixture of stuff going on here but it doesn’t go over the top. Funeral Throne keep it all together while making it interesting with some high pitched riffing too. ‘Soulless Eternity’ shreds along with the wicked 2 vocalist attack really hitting the mark.
‘From The Frozen North’ again shows what they can and have accomplished: Black Metal with solid punchy riffing, atmosphere and at times a non-linear approach to structure. Credit is due to the fact that Funeral Throne’s music sounds like it has come from the Arctic Circle and not the darkest recesses of central England.
The rest of the album maintains the aptitude of the beginning and rounds out what not only heralds the glorious return of English Black Metal but caps an impressive debut. I’m glad we can now be proud of our Black Metal again, which is important for a country with such a rich history of conquest and aggression. This album shall trigger the new empire.
How long has it been since a really good Black Metal release from Brazil? Unforetelling Philosophism by Regnum Umbra Ignis was the last that I’m aware of. That was 2005! This was released in 2008. Anyway, thanks to a timely request sent to the Hell Furnace labs for analysis we have one. With the disturbing [...]
Grab your old SS uniforms, smack down those infantry helmets and slip into your paratrooper boots. Oh yeah, and don’t forget your fucking Nebelwerfer! I’ve listened to tons of NSBM recently and to be totally honest 99% of it has been shite. Focusing on hate propaganda under the guise of extremely dire music it has [...]
I wasn’t sure about this album at first, but after a few listens, it’s definitely growing on me. Refreshing to hear some quality Black Metal from the UK for a change.
yea me too..appreciate this stuff and quality..thanks for sharing.