If I were to assign the adjective ‘colossal’ to a single musical instrument then nowhere would that description be more suited than to a pairing with the organ. Whilst typically associated with a feeling of religious praise and days of matrimony, the organ in a Metal context has also become a staple of the instrumental repertoire of Funeral Doom. With its old-world essence and immense vibrational heft, the instrument is a natural accompaniment to the often glacially paced tempo of this sub-genre. Arising from personnel who formerly featured as members of Slovenia’s now defunct Sludge Metal act Leechfeast, this debut from their new band Forged Relics inhabits a simultaneously enchanting and ethereal realm within a different style to their former musical collective.
Featuring three tracks and at a combined thirty-seven minutes runtime, the album begins and ends with a more blatant take on this sub-genre as opposed to the lonely piano track dominating the centre movement of the record. Opening with ‘Borrowed Forms (Eternal Sea)’, a fourteen-minute slab of guitar-less doomy intrigue. I liken the sound of the track to Skepticism’s 1995 classic ‘Stormcrowfleet’ minus any stringed instruments. The song features a slow percussive performance that dictates the direction of the track whilst the bulk of the space is saturated by the massive scale of the organ. Unconventional as the lack of guitars may be, the sheer scale of this organ performance makes up for the remaining space at least tenfold. The song makes me envision a kaleidoscopic vista of shining jewels making their way down the aisle of the largest gothic cathedral ever conceived atop the shoulders of a dozen black-clad pallbearers. The vocals are also suitably massive and feel necessarily sparse amidst the shining spectacle of these keys. Around the eight-minute mark of the track, some subtle modulation effects are applied to the organ which adds a curious sense of depth to its sonic capabilities.
The central title track summons a transition into a woeful and transfixing piece of simplistic lonely piano. Applied to the instrument is a delay effect that adds a breath of eerie repetition to the mournful stillness. Whilst the composition stays grounded within its main motif as the track progresses, there is a sense of quietly building tension that arises somewhere in the distance of the mix towards its latter moments. ‘Catacombs For The Broken Stars (Eternal Desert)’ beckons the return of the organ, drums and vocals for the final thirteen minutes. The track continues to effectively utilise the given space of the album’s sound. The range of the vocals on show here is slightly expanded with some pleasant complementary solo choral singing and the drums, whilst still commanding the slow crawl of the track, feature more fills than were present on the first song. This imbues the piece with more of an invigorated atmosphere. Some subtle calming synth keys also coalesce with the stupendous breadth of the organ performance and the harmonised finality on show within the final couple of minutes of this track is stunning.
‘Portal’ is a beautiful Funeral Doom album that directs its intentions towards the transcendental. The quality of instrumentation utilised here makes great use of the space that would usually be awash with guitar sections and this permits the organ to wonderfully demonstrate its glistening power. I also think that it is worth noting that if you have the opportunity, I’d recommend this as an album to enjoy in a quiet place through a quality set of headphones.
