Mournful Congregation - The Unspoken Hymns
Unfortunately this is not the new full-length we’ve been expecting from these Aussie Funeral Doomsters since 2009’s compelling The June Frost. We’ll have to wait just a bit longer for that, I suppose. This is a compilation of tracks from their split releases with Worship, Stabat Mater, and Stone Wings. It also features a re-recorded version of “Left Unspoken” from the Four Burials 4-way split (with Loss, Orthodox, and Otesanek) and a Thergothon cover. Call me a poser if you want to, I realize Thergothon is a major influence on nearly every Funeral Doom band, but I just don’t hear what’s so great about Stream from the Heavens. Maybe it’s because the album sounds like it was recorded using rubber bands and the radiator from an ‘85 Plymouth Reliant. Nevertheless, this is about Mournful Congregation, not Thergothon, just had to get that out of my system. Needless to say, I prefer their cover over the original by far. There are varying levels of production here that make for a slight distraction. These guys’ tunes are so apocalyptically slow that they require the attention span of Heimdall as it is. Still, when Funeral Doom fits the mood (which is a high percentage of the time in the Midwest) Mournful Congregation will do the job just about as well as anyone. The aforementioned upcoming release, The Book of Kings, is what I’m really anxious to sink my teeth into. If this new version of “Left Unspoken” is any indicator (the best song here, with easily the best production), it could be the defining moment of their legacy. But this adequate stopgap collection will have to do for now.
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