Wading Through The Death: Understanding Funeral Doom

Doom metal took many inspirations and origins from the roots of heavy metal. Taking the haunting and eerie pacing of Black Sabbath but slowing it down even further and adding more theatrical or melancholic vocals. You have Candlemass’ iconic 1986 debut Epicus Doomicus Metallicus, that truly birthed the blueprint of what doom metal would go on to become. Continuing the legacy with other well-known acts in the scene like Witchfinder General, Saint Vitus and Pentagram. From there, the genre would splinter into countless subgenres. Acts like My Dying Bride, Katatonia, and Paradise Lost would include elements of death metal interspersed with sweeping string arrangements and piano. Adding a gothic element to the sound and would create what a lot of modern doom metal would be characterized as.

One genre, that I have always been fascinated by in the subgenre of doom metal, is funeral doom. A genre that dwells and lives by the melancholic and loneliness of doom metal but crawling to its grave in a dirge-like pace. With some songs being as slow as 33 bpm. A more divisive genre and harder one to get into, the songs reflect true isolation, depression, suicide and death in an all too familiar tone and performance. Entrancing the listener with an unholy sonic assault of slow, pounding and alienating soundscapes. Causing the listener to instantly pray for death or wishing for the sweet relief of it. I decided to dive into the history of this subgenre, tackle its roots and its creators, the popularity of some of its acts and potentially where the genre could be going.

The genre followed in the footsteps of the doom metal acts that inspired the scene. Peaceville Records is sometimes heralded for pushing the popularity of doom metal into the mainstream with three bands on their label at the time (My Dying Bride, Anathema and Paradise Lost) dubbed “The Peaceville Three”. Taking that sound into a darker, grittier and guttural direction with the vocals of death metal acts like Autopsy and popular doom act Cathedral. The genre would also include to an extent the same string sections from those bands but bombard the listener in distortion and dissonance amongst the cavernous depths of reverb, chorus and delay in not only the guitars, but in the mix.

Cited by many as the originators of the funeral doom genre is Finland’s Thergothon. With the band’s 1994 debut and sole album Stream from the Heavens, the album showcased the slowed down, time-devouring song lengths, and brutal combination of deep guttural vocals and heavily reverbed downtuned guitars. Though the band broke up before the release of the album, Stream from the Heavens was influential in the development of the sound of the genre. Other acts, including fellow Finnish doom act Skepticism and Unholy, would also help grow the genre’s popularity following Thergothon’s disbandment.

Following those acts rising in popularity in the burgeoning funeral doom scene, other countries began to grow their own well-known acts. Australia’s diSEMBOWELMENT would bring funeral doom down under with their take on the genre but leaning more towards death/doom with their only album, 1993’s Transcendence into the Peripheral. England would also join in the funeral procession with Esoteric. The Birmingham act would release their second album The Pernicious Enigma to huge praise. Becoming a huge influence in the European scene and being not only what some consider the best album from the band, but a defining record and a must-listen for defining records of the scene. Evoken would represent the United States in the funeral doom map of the world. Taking influence from the originators like Thergothon, the band’s sound hit a fever pitch with their 2005 album Antithesis of Light. Showing that America can join in on the procession and the genre was beginning to gain prominence throughout the late 90’s and 2000’s.

With the help and distribution through the internet, countless more acts began to rise to prominence in the scene. You’d have Germany’s Ahab, that with their nautical themed lyrics and imagery, earned the band the nickname “Nautik Doom” to their sound. With their one-two punch of doom classics, 2006’s The Call of The Wretched Sea and 2009’s The Divinity of Oceans, would establish the band as a new name and leader in the funeral doom genre for the late 2000’s. A lot of one-man doom projects would also begin to rise during that time as well. You’d have blackened funeral doom act Nortt, Doom: VS from Sweden and the United States’ Catacombs. With these acts delivering the thundering, cavernous and feedback heavy disillusionment all done by themselves.

Another band that came out of nowhere and landed on everyone’s radar was Seattle’s Bell Witch. A funeral doom duo, the band gained a huge cult following upon the release of their third album Mirror Reaper.  Consisting of one solid track or two (depending on digital or vinyl), the album’s slow pacing, atmospheric and desolate soundscape, along with booming bass and drums, helped amplify the band and not only become a new face to the funeral doom genre, but upon release would be praised on a lot of Best Albums of 2017 lists from sites like Decibel, Loudwire, Rolling Stone and Metal Hammer.  Other bands would take the funeral doom sound and combine it with sludge and harsh noise. Bands like Primitive Man, Thou and Vermin Bomb would take those hybrids to not only create dark and sinister ambience but incorporate more hostility and anger into their variations of the funeral doom & death/doom sound.

Funeral doom has had its critics upon the foundation of the genre. With many critics of the genre pointing out the absurd padding of songs. Letting guitar notes hang for so long or just adding walls and walls of reverb and delay to help get a song to a particular song length. Many also claim the genre is just boring. With the same repetitive, predictable and simplistic song structure. Also, the mindset of the listener is a factor for critics of the genre. It’s very rare to be in a good mood and put on a ninety-minute, melancholic and depressing song that sometimes feels like it just doesn’t go anywhere or give you any hope. But again, there are genres that aren’t for everyone and that’s ok. As long as you don’t ruin it for the people that like it, then we’re cool in my book.

Personally, I am a fan of funeral doom (specifically Ahab, Esoteric, The Funeral Orchestra and Bell Witch mainly). I like the creativity in the genre. How can you encapsulate the feeling of dread, loneliness and the weight of the world on your back in a snail-like pacing, but keep the listener interested? I can see the criticisms that people bring up with the genre, and I get it sometimes. There are songs I love from bands in the scene, that I wish were a bit shorter, or didn’t need another two minutes of strumming and ambience. But other acts and countless other albums show that many bands do that well and deliver that brooding, ominous, downtrodden feeling and don’t bore you.

              The band Faal perfomring (Youtube channel evirkacher Russia)

I will provide a list of bands/albums to check out if you are curious about the genre and need a good starting point. My request from you, the reader, is to just give the album you check out a full listen and have a good pair of headphones on and just sink into the desolation of this genre. Truly listen to the ambience and atmosphere the band is going for with the album. Delve into the psyche and lyrical depth of these bands. Who knows, maybe you may be a new member of this congregation of this procession of death.

Bands & Albums To Check Out:

Thergothon “Stream from the Heavens”

Esoteric “The Pernicious Enigma”

Skepticism “Lead and Aether”

Evoken “Antithesis of Light”

Ahab “The Call of The Wretched Sea”

Bell Witch “Mirror Reaper”

The Funeral Orchestra “Feeding The Abyss”