Funebria hails from Venezuela, another one of those countries that don't often appear in the blackened underground. However, what these guys have recorded, surpasses every expectation and blasts with sheer ferocity through my speakers. Chaotic riffs, haunted screams and an inhuman tempo show a band that knows a little something about songwriting and instrument skills. In ten bleak metallic anthems, Funebria smashes a lot of competitors in this genre.
Songs like 'Serpent Sign' and 'Whores Of Babylon' are fearsome pieces of work, reminding me both of the primitive black metal from the nineties and the atmospheric approach by bands like Cradle Of Filth. The band claims to be influenced by people like Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Crowley, Lavey and Lovecraft. Musically, those influences could certainly be heard. These guys engulf the genre in utter darkness, much deeper that some other bands do.
'Nihilist Revelation' is arguably one of my favorite tracks on this piece of work. It reminds me a little of 'Haunted Shores' by Cradle Of Filth with its hyperspeed drums, mindnumbing riffs and an eerie voice, scratching on your very soul. The latter is one of my all time favorite black metal songs, so I guess Funebria might take that reference as a compliment. In fact, as far as I'm concerned, they can take this whole review as a compliment because it certainly is.
'Dekatherion: Ten Years Of Hate & Pride' shows a well-attuned band that has been around long enough to deliver a solid sound, excellent songs of tons of pure nihilism. Even a seasoned black metal fan might be surprised by the sheer malignance coming from this little disc (or digital file) but it certainly comes highly recommended. This is pure misantropy in its sickest, fastest and most depressive form. If anyone ever asks you what black metal is, make him listen to this. He might never return...
Serge