The Misery Season

The official recorded history of the band known as Funereal is misleading, These guys were not a short-lived, straight-to-album death/doom act from the early 2000s. In fact, they were an early 1990s death metal band who recorded one album ("The Misery Season") in 1994, following two demos and a self-released EP. All of the band’s previous material was released under the name of Contagion. This Funereal album was not released until 2000, when the band was defunct. The liner notes explain that the band’s original label arrangement collapsed. They subsequently folded, presumably in 1995, and two members joined Cianide.

This record is excellent, if not exceptional, old school death metal. It is far too good to have languished in limbo. Funereal’s approach is more challenging and atmospheric than most of their Midwestern death metal peers (such as Broken Hope and the aforementioned Cianide). They were technical without ever sounding like a 'tech' band. They were atmospheric without relying on spooky gimmicks. The album reminds me of the earliest records by Morbid Angel, Immolation, Incantation and Deicide. There is a slight Scandinavian tinge too, Funebre would be a good comparison point. Imagine the middle ground between "Children of the Scorn", “Onward to Golgotha” and "Here in After". It sounds like that.

The musicianship is tight. The production is clear and taut, not bassy. The heaviness is created from the transitions into mid-tempo riffs, rather than by the production. The song-structures are labyrinthine enough to keep the listener guessing but they never descend into riff-salad. The drumming of Andy Kuizin is excellent. He rolls plenty of double-bass drumming under the mid-paced and semi-fast riffs. The vibe aligns with the darker, supernatural side of death metal (such as Immolation), rather than the gore/zombies/brutal themes. However, some songs show a clear Autopsy influence and a slight death/doom sound (e.g., "Eternal" and "Seclusion"). The latter song, along with "Confinement", originally appeared on the second Contagion demo.

"The Misery Season" shows that Contagion/Funereal were one of the more interesting and promising obscurities from the early 90s Midwestern death metal scene. The album has aged well. It sounds fresher than the legions of Incantation clones that have flooded the scene since its (official) release. The only flaw is the lack of instant memorability, but the same could be said of “Onward to Golgotha”. Personally, I don't think Funereal matched the primordial death/doom violence of the second Contagion demo. That demo is the band's defining moment, but I admire their decision to move beyond the quagmire sound and into pastures new. This is a fine old school death metal album and you need to hear it.