Funebrarum Beckoning The Void of Eternal Silence Review
Funebrarum
Beckoning The Void of Eternal Silence
Pulverised Records
2026
The name Funebrarum should be familiar with anyone who follows underground death metal, especially that of the dark and atmospheric old-school variety. However, if you aren't, we find ourselves discussing their latest full length, the forboding and aggressive Beckoning The Void of Eternal Silence.
The band was forged from the deepest slime pits of Clifton, New Jersey in 1999. The union of underground veterans vocalist Daryl Kahan (also of Citizens Arrest, formerly of Assuck, Born Against, Forced Expression, etc.), guitarist Nick Orlando (formerly of Evoken), drummer Dario Derna (formerly of Evoken and Infester), and bassist David Wagner (of Evoken). In the time since forming and releasing four albums and one EP, Funebrarum have solidified themselves as genre leaders and stalwarts. They effortlessly blend elements of traditional American death metal with Scandinavian and Finnish touches. This is old-school death metal for old-school death metal heads, long before it became trendy and the newest revivalist sound.
What greets us here is multilayered, dense, and darkly angry yet somber death metal. We get an intro (“The Arrival”) and nine songs here, with most of them ranging from four and a half to five and a half minutes. The production is raw and bottom-heavy, with the vocals sitting a bit further back than I like, but I think this is somewhat intentional, as they have a fair bit of reverb on them and are executed with a low, almost whisper-like growl, which adds to the menacing feel of the songs, so it's not necessarily a detractor. I just like my vocals hotter. Funebrarum deploy speedy passages when necessary (“Beckoning the Void of Eternal Silence”), but for the most part these compositions are mid-paced, marching, slow and slower, even bordering on death/doom at times (“In Dark Domains”). What also gives the album more depth and sounds downright creepy is the use of keyboards and synths (“Ancestral Manor,” which also serves as a quick interlude mid-album). These keys appear elsewhere (“Anhela Odor Mortuorum (The Adepts)”), and there are also some very adept guitar solos throughout many of the songs, which is honestly a rarity in this style of DM. Normally these are whammy-bar-abusing (there IS a bit of that here), 1000-notes-per-second affairs, but here they are melodic and serve the songs. The vibe throughout the entirety is utmost heaviness backed by unsettling atmosphere, and I am absolutely here for it. At 8:44, the closer “The Whispering Cathedral - Epilogue” is surely not for short attention spans, but what it does so effectively is present itself as an epic that contains several different movements, from melodic doom to all-out d-beat madness to death/doom and back again to unbridled old-school ferocity that builds to an ethereal orchestral climax. Wow.
That wraps it up. What Funebrarum have achieved here is an album that is intended to be experienced as such. There's enough of their tried-and-true formula along with some new ideas to keep their fanbase satiated, as well as garnering them some new ones. This record is an entity that keeps you checking for resting demons in your closet or constantly having your head on a swivel when you hear the slightest noise whilst alone in your home. Creeptastic traditionalist fare that will please the most discerning of 80’s and 90’s death metal palates.
RIYL- Incantation, Bolt Thrower, Demigod, Abhorrence
~TB