The Venom of God

Another slab of Romanian black metal, this time on the rawer side comes from Funeral Baptism. Hailing from Bucharest they have released two EPs before their debut full length “The Venom of God” saw the light of day in 2017. From the first note onwards it is pretty obvious that these lads are true followers of the classic Scandinavian school, throwing in Norwegian coldness as well as a bit of the melodic aspect for which some Swedish acts have become famous.

There are a lot of jarring, vicious sounding guitars, drenched in a raw and shrill tone, machine gun tight drums and some truly arid and fierce sounding vocals, all making the four tracks sound oppressively harsh and aggressive. There’s some great, chaotic and cacophonous moments where the music takes a markedly more frenzied turn, providing yet more venom and viciousness to the already bleak picture. The band made good use of hall and reverb effects, lending the music a cold and nihilistic character.

The drums are one of the driving forces of Funeral Baptism, with plenty of running kicks, ride tings, cymbal splashes, fills, and pattern changes fueling the energy of the guitars. That being said the main star might be the cool guitar work, that is responsible for some highly enjoyable moments. Take as an example the title track which is littered with plenty of great guitar parts, like example the crazy soloing work at the end, perfectly embedded within the groovy main riffs.

The vocals are fierce and perfectly delivered in grim fashion. There are only six full tracks here and one intro, adding up to under half an hour of playing time. The songwriting is extremely tight and Funeral Baptism have consequently cut out all filler material. I personally would have preferred a bit more variation and more focus on the build-up in some places. On the other hand there are lot of albums offering a more expansive take on the genre, so it is nice to get such a compact and grim little record as contrast.

The production is rough yet powerful, attacking without mercy. The drums have a massive punch and the guitars come along with a somehow distant vibe, enhancing the cold and frosty nature of the album. “The Venom of God” does not convince with innovation in any sense, but anyone looking for a pure dose of old school goodness cannot go wrong here.