Passio et Mors...

The interestingly named Gallileous is an odd ball entry into the funeral doom field. This is one of those few bands that emphasis darkness and sheer heaviness over melancholy. There are no keyboards in this four piece, just all any band ever truly needs: guitars, bass and drums.

This is an uncompromising, hard hitting ball of darkness. The slow guitar dirges are similar in tone, sound and vitriol to diSEMBOWELMENT or perhaps Thergothon (if they were more aggressive). They plow through the air at near droning speed. At times the pace and attitude of Type O Negatives 'Slow, Deep & Hard' comes to mind. There are also many 'In Memorium'-era Cathedral riffs throughout the entire recording. Just slower, darker and heavier than Cathedral.

There is no subtlety on this recording, just heads down slow churned funeral doom, stripped to just the barest of bones. The speed is slightly uptempo from your average funeral band but they never lose their atmospheric intensity. There are only four songs on this criminally short (thirty-eight minutes) demo. The lyrics are all in Latin as well, which is just cool.

This is the bands only listenable recording too, everything following this is stupidly generic stoner rock, which makes this release all the more precious as it shows what might have been. Especially considering how insanely heavy this album is. This is pretty original stuff and each song kills. You will find yourself restarting it over and over every time the CD stops. This is a very welcome entry into the ever growing field of funeral doom.

This is singlehandedly the evilest, darkest piece I've ever heard. The funeral doom tempos combined with the blackened guitarscape makes this a challenging (but very rewarding) listen for even the most seasoned extreme metal veterans.

First, I'd like to start with the colossal, monumental sound this album achieves. The sustained notes here transcend the average in terms of impact and length of sustain. The fact that they're often punctuated by extremely guttural growls of epic windage certainly adds a fair amount of said impact to the sound. These sustains, however, manage to keep out of the rut of repetition by always varying note and octave, and even have well-selected major key moments to add a glimmer of hope to the abyssic sound.

This incorporation of major key bits is where this album truly separates itself from its contemporaries. Instead of a droll march through a dark swamp, the provided rays of sunlight remind the listener that hope exists, but is utterly unattainable. An album that gives hope only to crush it is far darker than an album of nothing but minor key litanies.

The vocals here are subtle but certainly don't want for force. The vocalist is truly a craftsman. He knows when a blood curdling growl needs sustain, and he knows how to execute it. To complement this, he also knows when a lesser amount of "umph" is needed and performs accordingly.

Obviously, as guitarwork goes, there isn't much technicality to be found here, it's all based in emotion. Two basic types of guitar exist on this album. Sustains and chugging (yes, chugging on a funeral doom album). I've already talked about the sustains, but the chugging deserves more attention. This isn't that shitty –core style we're all so unfortunately accustomed to hearing. This is a slow, scale style chug that functions as the "riffs" of the album. The scales played here are menacing and ominous. With a little alteration, they could function as satanic death metal riffs. The influence of early Crypt of Kerberos, Incantation, and Infester is obvious in these parts, which undoubtedly adds some vileness and hate. The brief bits of acoustic guitar aren't to be overlooked either. They have a certain murk about them that really adds to the atmosphere in a way that electrics can't.

Passio Et Mors is certainly a pantheon of different influences. The listener will certainly hear some black metal elements (primarily in the guitar tone), but they're pretty tough to pin down specifically. You know it's there, you just can't specify what it is.

This is a great album. Fans of complex funeral doom like Skepticism won't be let down, nor will fans of Wormphlegm-style stuff. I constantly recommend this because I feel that Gallileous is a truly underappreciated project who deserve a place among the masters of funeral doom. Check it out if you're up for a visceral, emotionally draining listen.

-Originally Written for Spirit of Metal