Saturday, February 2, 2019

Funeral - From These Wounds (2006)


Related:
Funeral - Tragedies (1995)
Fallen - A Tragedy's Bitter End (2004)

The other Funeral masterpiece. Sorrowful baritone vocals over crushing riffs, majestic keyboards, and generally melodic but utterly desolated sounds that are equally informed by funeral doom and gothic death. From These Wounds was written in the aftermath of the suicide of founding guitarist/vocalist Einar Andre Fredriksen (who some of you might recognize from his appearance on this album cover.) Then, heartbreakingly, one of their guitarists, Christian Loos, committed suicide just before the album's release. Needless to say, the specter of loss and mortality hangs over this record's every moment, and you can definitely hear it.

Track listing:
1. This Barren Skin
2. From These Wounds
3. The Architecture of Loss
4. Red Moon
5. Vagrant Moon
6. Pendulum
7. Saturn

Here I lie
Waiting to die
No cigarettes
No drinks after eight
Here I lie
Medication cut down
To preserve my breath
To postpone my death


Also listen to:
Diabolique -
Wedding the Grotesque (1997)
Omit -
Repose (2011)

13 comments:

  1. One of my all-time favourite albums. And not just because of the singer's pronunciation of "mature" that he rhymes with "nature" - the songs are surprisingly catchy too.

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  2. is Funeral - Beyond All Sunsets demo a thing? do you have it?.....is it great? anyway thanks for turning me on to these guys, love em

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    1. Yeah, it's really fucking great. Most of it ended up on Tragedies, but the first (aside from the acoustic intro) and last songs did not. And if you're into the rawer demo sound, you might even prefer these versions:
      https://www42.zippyshare.com/v/OXoFAbt0/file.html

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    2. All of Funeral's early demos are kinda confusing to keep up with. Anyway zippyshare link to "Beyond All sunsets" demo above isn't working.

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    3. https://mega.nz/file/BDEGBC7D#hAiRd9pdZ8ZCMOEuZvPUMEz9L2OthqIFcXYwWiyVoh4

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  3. oh dang! thanks. Now I can finally feel depressed!

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  4. are these songs on the demo slower and emptier?......it is a really great thing this!

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  5. Hey discogs lists a demo '99? know anything about it?

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    1. I certainly do. 6 song demo, 5 of which ended up, in slightly remixed form, as the first 5 tracks on In Fields of Pestilent Grief. Obviously not the first Funeral release I'd tell someone to track down, but if you've heard all their albums, which I'm guessing you have, it does have the one 'unreleased' song, "When Ruin Beckons", so it's worth hearing:
      https://mega.nz/file/tSlzHL7a#uge2C7FlyFGJDBdt2FZqJlufxT8-p8uUQzdmyaz7Gak

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    2. Speaking of epic melodic funeral doom with baritone vocals: have you heard "Take Up My Bones" by ARÐ? Solo project by a member of Winterfylleth. It's fucking choice. Definitely one of my favorite records of 2022, highly, highly recommend.

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    3. yep, ARÐ is best funeral doom I've heard this year so far

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