Formed in their native Mexico five years ago and currently residing in California, the barbarians of Funereus have been perfecting their craft with a few demos, EPs and splits, not to mention 2010’s debut album ‘Profane Rite of Morbid Glorification’. Thankfully album number two has a far more memorable and catchy title in ‘Return of the Old Goat’. Surely anything related to our hill-dwelling, spiritually vague four-legged friends is going to be good, right? In the case of Funereus, this is very much the case. The fact that the line-up consists of just two guys – guitarist Sargatanaz along with drummer and vocalist Valefar – simply makes it all the more focussed on quality.
‘Unhallowed Tomb’ hits us with an immediate blast of black metal reminiscent of Darkthrone, with a bit of Impaled Nazarene-styled madness mixed in. As soon as the speed lets up, an irresistible groove then takes over. From minute one, Funereus is an evident dealer of orthodox old school black metal. However, there is a real clarity to the production which enables the band’s message to ram – no pun intended – its way straight into your face. Even when a bit of a breezy riff appears at one point, we’re quickly ejaculated back into that speed and cracking groove; Valefar’s vocals crowing incessantly over top. ‘Prelude’ affirms the band’s weird credentials, consisting of twenty three seconds of bizarre panoramic snarling… Before ‘Funeral Ghoul’ provides another belligerent blast. It would be easy to mistake these guys for a Scandinavian act as punk riffs morph into unrepentant grooves and vice-versa. The marching riff and drum beat around the three minute mark on this one is excellent. If I still had hair, believe me, it would be flying.
‘Return of the Old Goat’ turns out to be another punk-infused blast of rancidity, kicking off with a dark dirty riff, drum roll and mandatory “Eurgh!”. Which is nothing less than you would expect from the return of the Old Goat himself. While the title track is probably the most measured attack it certainly loses nothing in attitude and, once again, the kick drum patterns detonate like cluster bombs beneath hellbanging riffs. In contrast, ‘Below the Horns of Blasphemy’ has the fastest parts on the record and plenty of charges into raw power. Despite a dramatic aside in which pounding drums and a morose riff reveal themselves, it doesn’t take long for pace and invocations of “Satan” to reappear. Although generic, it certainly is effective. Take the riff on ‘Ascending the Throne of Satan’ for example, which victoriously strides out like something from Immortal before morphing into yet more gritty punk/Motörhead-style abandon. Only closer ‘Umbra Atox’ breaks the pattern, constructing layers of grimness for its four minute duration.
As shifts in tempo are what make the record such a winner, the parting shot is probably the least enthralling one. While evidently not groundbreaking, ‘Return of the Old Goat’ is still the most immediate black metal album I’ve come into contact with for a while. It certainly won’t make an impression on fans of progression, cerebrally challenging music or indeed those who harbour a grudge against goats. But this is for admirers of the genre at its raw essence, and for such folk it’s well worth picking up.
(8/10 Jamie)
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