The Malediction of Manifestation

Qabr plays the fairly conventional funeral doom. Nothing unusual, nothing special, but if done right, it has the potential to be good anyway. Well, this really isn't, and there are several factors that hinder the overall enjoyment and remove 40 points from the rating.

Opener "She Never Left" starts with a slow, mournful keyboard riff, played with an organ sound. So far, so good. Programmed drums enter later, but this isn't bad either. Whoever programmed these seems to have a fair knowledge of actual drumming, and it shows.

The guitar is very typical, never really deviating from the expected, the distorted pwer chords. Shortly after, the vocals enter. I'm not sure what the vocalist was going for here, but if anything, they detract from the average music, bringing it way below enjoyability. He has a very raspy scream, but it is usually too high in the mix and too loud. Needs to be improved before being so audible as this. Maybe a little reverb or something would've helped.

"The Gallows Funeral" is a much better track. The sadness is better portrayed, the guitar feels heavier, and the organ is used more to complement it, rather than to take the lead. The vocalist here tends to favor more of a traditional growl, which he's MUCH better at. The first track would probably have been better if he'd have just stuck with what he is obviously more skilled at. Another highlight of this track is, as mentioned, better use of keyboards. Around 5:20, the guitar exits and the organ plays a very haunting, sinister sounding riff.

Overall, "The Malediction Of Manifestation" is surprisingly good for what it is- the first demo from an unsigned, unknown funeral doom band. With improved vocals, a bit more of a guitar presence, and louder drums, this band could turn into something great.