Info
- Band(s): Funerealm Gloom
- Label(s): Down With The Most High, Medieval Prophecy Records, Unpure Records
- Release Format(s): 12" vinyl, Cassette, CD
- Release Year: 2024
- Review Date: March 3, 2025
- Author(s): FelixS
After the great and compelling ‘Serpentcraft’ demo tape from 2020, the duo of Funerealm Gloom fell silent. Despite the demo tape got reissued on a split CD with Cursed Excruciation last year, the wait was for a full-length album. This duo, however, are not the sort of guys that sit down and be lazy, with their activities in bands such as Witchcraft, Beherit, Ceremonial Torture, Necromonarchia Daemonum and Infernathan they cannot be accused of cutting corners. Yet, literally all of their involved bands are worthwhile, I was particularly interested in hearing new material of Funerealm Gloom because of the rather unique musical nature of the project. With ‘Catachthonium Mysteriis’ the awaited body of work is finally here…
As with many of the duo’s other bands, Funerealm Gloom depends largely on an eerie atmosphere driven mostly by a stripped-down sort of song writing and sinister use of keyboards. In the review for the ‘Serpentcraft’ demo, as the band’s part of the split CD with Cursed Excruciation, I already drew parallels with the Italian masters of haunting doom Abysmal Grief. Basically, what this full-length album is bringing us is very much a logical continuation of what the band has done on that short 10-minute demo tape: blending the very corner stones of crude, early Black Metal of the likes of Barathrum and Beherit with those nightmarish Abysmal Grief-like keyboards.
While mixing both Doom Metal and Black Metal elements is not quite new and bands like Xantotol and Necromantia (which Funerealm Gloom also clearly shares musical DNA with) did that already early on in their respective careers, it is not a sound commonly heard – not now, not before. Add to that the overwhelmingly authentic way the band brings their ancient and evil craft, that truly makes ‘Catachthonium Mysteriis’ a magnificent piece of work that knows no equals in the current day Black Metal scene.
At the time of writing it is only available on CD through the great Unpure Records from Poland, but there should be a cassette tape version through Down With The Most High shortly and Medieval Prophecy Records will release it on vinyl somewhere next year. So, if you’re not into buying CD’s, you’ll have to keep your eyes open for future releases, but it wouldn’t hurt to already take a dive in this magical and mythical world through the several streaming possibilities.
Down With The Most High
- Country: Spain
- Style: Death Metal, Black Metal
- Links: Homepage, Facebook, Instagram, Bandcamp, Youtube
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Medieval Prophecy Records
- Country: Belgium
- Style: Black Metal
- Links: Youtube
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Unpure Records
- Country: Poland
- Style: Death Metal, Black Metal
- Links: Homepage, Bandcamp
