Sludgy, slow, and heavier than an obese rhino: perhaps the only way you can describe Misanthrope, debut release of Minnesotan doom metal quartet No Funeral. Having formed back in 2011, No Funeral have been recording and releasing demos and singles since 2013, with each of the these tracks being polished off and collected together to create their first full-length album. Now that the album has finally come to fruition however, does it hold together?
The short answer would be yes, but that wouldn’t make for much of an interesting review, so let me tell you why Misanthrope works so well.
Anyone familiar with doom metal knows that the genre is built upon long, droning guitar notes, and a general slowness, all the while sounding intensely heavy, as if someone were to play a Cannibal Corpse album at one eighth its normal speed. No Funeral have managed to achieve this style down to a tee, with each track on Misanthrope embracing the staples of doom metal, whilst not appearing formulaic or generic.
What becomes the mainstay of the album as a whole is the use of repeated guitar riffs, wherein each track there will be a predominant riff used and re-used throughout. This repetition could become annoying or seem as if there is a lack of originality from the band, relying on one decent riff to carry a song. However, this is far from the case on Misanthrope, as the repeated riffs go on to create a droning feeling within the songs, something which is key the sound of any doom metal band. The sludgy, slow repetition of guitarists Kevin (who also provides the vocals) and Doug (who appears on the final track, “Hate”) sees the tracks become all encompassing, as if the listener cannot escape their sound as each verse brings you back to where you have already been. This idea of the music being all encompassing and surrounding only adds to the largeness of the sound; a mountainous wall of noise which you are overwhelmed by, a sound which you cannot possibly escape. In my own opinion, I have to say: it’s a good thing not be able to escape from.
The length of each track is typical for what you would find on a doom metal album, with the shortest track being almost six minutes long. Due to this, the band has plenty of room within each song to show their diversity, offering different styles while always ultimately returning to the original style laid out in the beginning of the track. For example, on both “Hate” and “Narcotic Hex”, No Funeral picks up the pace, providing an interlude which is still slow, but sounds lightning fast when compared to the rest of the song. These interludes see the whole band grouping together for a faster style of play, with drummer Jeff free to attack his drums, bringing a ferocious and continuous beat that changes the entire mood of the song.
The slightly faster interludes featured throughout some tracks certainly do breathe some life in to Misanthrope, but the main focus No Funeral is concerned with is creating a sound which trudges along at a slug’s pace, with bone-crushing heaviness. No track on the album displays this better than “Leeches”, which only begins to pick up the pace towards the end of the track, remaining for the most part at a sludgy, crawling pace. This stagnant pacing of an already immensely heavy track only amplifies its density, creating one of the most intensely weighty tracks I have ever heard.
Be sure to go out now and get Misanthrope as soon as you can, as the album is in limited supply for physical release, meaning that once it’s gone, it’s gone.
Misanthrope is out now and available through No Funeral’s Bandcamp.
No Funeral: facebook | bandcamp | soundcloud
