Valley of Darkness

Funerarium originates from Luxembourg, the smallest neighbouring country of my homeland Germany. Luxembourg is just a tiny spot on the map - and a lovely region as well. But Funerarium is not interested in loveliness. The band plays genuine black metal while showing the tendency to prefer slow-moving rhythms. The guitars try to hypnotize the listener with a constant flow of seemingly never-ending melody lines. Up to a certain percentage, they are successful. Yet there is a serious handicap. The production sucks. It is almost a rip-off to sell this product as a regular album without having re-mastered the demo recordings.

The sound of the drums is horrible. It fails to spread even the smallest amount of penetrating power. Especially during the faster sections, the drums are hardly audible. The flat guitars and the relatively tedious bass guitar dominate. In short, the misty sound prevents a vigorous overall impression. The hoarse and distorted voice of lead singer De Rais has a sinister touch, but it also cannot compensate for the muddy and blurred mix. If the album would have a better defined timbre, it would be comparable with Gehenna´s "First Spell". Well, we have to face a different situation. However, the amateurish technical implementation cannot prevent that Funerarium is able to create a dark mood.

With regard to the songs themselves, I have good news. They prove that the guys from Luxembourg know their musical trade. Admittedly, the instrumental "Uther Pendragon" is a triumph of boredom. In view of its place in the centre of "Valley of Darkness", it hurts the flow of the album in an annoying way. To add insult to injury, the overlong outro negates the need to keep a supply of sleeping pills. Irrespective of these letdowns, Funerarium does not disappoint the listener. The title track marks the climax of this debut. In accordance with the basic idea of the subgenre, it attacks the Christian souls with a well arranged mixture of fast-paced and mid-tempo parts. On the one hand, it creates a black vortex. On the other hand, the song surprises with an unexpected melody during the instrumental part. Without adding new aspects to the black metal universe, the remaining tracks wallow in desperation, hate and contempt.

Perhaps this album is a milestone of Luxembourgian black metal, not least because of the lack of competitors. In the European context, it is of minor importance. Those of you who cannot live without having heard every pure black metal record should look out for "Valley of Darkness". It does definitely not lack of authenticity. The spirit of the underground is present and five of seven numbers reach or surpass a solid level. Nevertheless, there are better things in life than this full-length which cannot hide the shortcomings of the band or, to be politically correct, its potential for optimisation.