Black Funeral - Belial Arisen
Black Funeral arose from the ashes of Sorath (the American one, not the one that had that split-CD with Unclean) back in the early ‘90s and had a style of Black Metal that was clearly influenced by the likes of Burzum, Darkthrone and Emperor. Over the years, this band released two full-length albums in that style and then Mike Ford (the sole permanent member of Black Funeral) decided to change the focus of Black Funeral to a Death Industrial style similar to Brighter Death Now, MZ 412, his other project Valefor, and others in that feedback-laden Industrial genre. This album is, in a way, a time capsule. The music for this album was originally recorded back in ’96 but the vocals were not laid down until 2000. Remember when Darkthrone did that? This is kind of in the same vein. You get cold, dark Black Metal in the Burzum / Emperor style and sound. The thing that kind of brings this down is the drum machine. The drums sound too mechanical and the bass drums sound like a light switch. I did like this better than their last album (the Death Industrial one) but I can’t help but wonder what this would have sounded like with a human drummer and a better drum tone. I’ve followed this band for a long time and though they’ve managed to keep their “cult” sound and status, Black Funeral has yet to release a “definitive” album.
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