The Funeral Pyre
Vultures at Dawn

Holy Shit! This album is fucking evil. Seriously, The Funeral Pyre knows how to create some sick tunes. I love how their riffs have the tendency to dig and crawl underneath your skin. I swear every time I play these guys on my stereo, I feel as if a portal to hell is surrounding me and at any second I can be engulfed in Lucifer’s eternal flames.

Vultures at Dawn is almost an exact copy of Wounds, except with some minor adjustments. They also venture deep into sludge territory as well. On this album I like how they got rid of that annoying kick sound they had on their last album. Even though I love Wounds to death, that kick just didn’t sound right. The newly improved vocals are what sold me on this album though. Their downright disgusting and really filthy, I mean it sounds like this man actually eats glass or something that cuts up his throat. Seriously when you hear this man scream, you will shit your pants. Does anyone else almost fall into a trance-like daze when you’re listening to this band? Because it makes one wonder if these guys record their music with Satan, in the deepest bowels of the unholy land. It’s just I feel like they have some mind control powers or something, hell maybe Professor Xavier is in the band to.

Opener “Vultures” sets the tone for the album. After a short intro of eerie bells and guitar feedback, the band kicks into full gear and the blasting begins. It isn’t until “Monolith” where the band takes their first foray into sludge domain. A seven minute monster of a song, it’s slow and foreboding sound just seeps pure evil. That is until one hears the vocals because the opening scream is nuts. Also the bluesy solo at the end came out of nowhere. It’s moments like this in black metal that give me the chills. The experimentation that leads to places outside the realm of one specific style is what keeps one’s faith in a genre filled to the brim with a million other same sounding bands.

The rest of the album, from the cold and majestic “Blistered Hands” to the crushing yet depressing “Clarity of Time.” The Funeral Pyre shows us all that black metal is here to stay. With that being said Vultures at Dawn is another masterpiece added to their already astonishing collection.

[Visit the band's website]
Written by Jesse Wolf
August 19th, 2010

Comments

  1. Commented by: mccumberv

    Hmmm, I always considered these guys to be a Black Dahlia Murder wannabe, HotTopic, girl jeans, scene hair, wallet chain wearing buch of douchebags… but to be honest I never listened to them.

    I shall make some effort and form a more educated opinon of them based on reading your review and actually listen the music.

    Thanks!!!


  2. Commented by: jerry

    i hope its not “black metal” in the way that people consider abigail williams to be black metal.
    but their logo looks like the logo from The Nightmare Before Christmas so how bad could it be?


  3. Commented by: rover-sit

    I’m not astonished. This isn’t Black Metal. Mccumberv was correct in his assumption. Good day.


  4. Commented by: JH DOOM
  5. Commented by: broadencity

    that second paragraph … seriously


  6. Commented by: mccumberv

    Its good, really good, I was totally wrong about these guys, to me it sounds like a mix between At the Gates/The Absence (vocals),Nactmystium and Wolves in the Throne Room (buzzing guitars and vibe)but not as wandering and a little more metal. They do have a very cool guitar tone. I stand corrected!!!!

    Thanks for turning me onto them.


  7. Commented by: Jesse Wolf

    You’re welcome.


  8. Commented by: Andy Synn

    I didn’t really find this one to be all that similar to “Wounds” to be honest, although there’s still a definite link.

    You could see on their “December” EP that this was going to be the direction they were going, a little more droning and depressing. It’s definitely a dirtier sounding record than “Wounds”.

    I still really like it, don’t get me wrong, but do miss the razor-sharp hooks of “Wounds” a little – still given time this one has wormed it’s way under my skin like a prticularly nasty infection

    Also, I really like the new Abigail Williams record. So sue me.


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