Spaceship Earth is drifting further and further away from its origins, as the universe is expanding. Will it all eventually return back into one single point with joyous afterglow of all debauchery that happened during billions of years, or will it all just drift further away and turn into a cold, totally deserted cosmos?

Neither of those two possible futures are happening for some time, and you got loads of days left to stay warm while listening to Italian stoner/doom metal band Funeral Mantra's debut full-length album 'Afterglow'. See, while it's doomy and dark, it can also be warm; Funeral Mantra sound cozy, too, like good old Black Sabbath. A lot of this is due to earthly feeling the band's performances and the production job both submit. Partly, certainly, due to the songwriting.

It's 50/50 for doom and more rocking stuff, and each of the songs include both sides. The rocking traits remind of Orange Goblin and the likes, so British doom/stoner seems to be appreciated by Funeral Mantra. However, you can add Black label Society to the list, too, even though its not that big an influence I hear. Harshest bits, like e.g. 'Brainlost' contains, remind of High On Fire style stuff. There are some "floating" vibe parts, but nothing too "high"; the album starts with a "dimension gateway" sound similar to Phantasm movies contain, but in the end, this album doesn't go through more warped or aggressive things to human psyche or flesh. There are some double bass drum parts to make it more metal, but then again, some fuzzy guitar solos to trip on.

The production is organic, with most of the elements well presented. It really does sound old, when thinking about all these guitar tones heard on it. One doesn't need to fear to hear triggers here... There are some bass guitar "farting" here and there, which is the biggest grievance about how this all sounds like. However, it sounds powerful enough and suitably ragged, too. The vocals are raspy and spitting, hitting notes pretty well. Mostly rather mid or low-ended, there's also some steamy, orcish growling to be heard.

I wished this was a bit more adventurous album, because now it gets a tad too samey at some point. It certainly offers entertainment for most of its duration, but I think some of the songs are simply also too long. On the other hand, it is ballsy and pretty metal among all its grooviness; something that many a band similar to Funeral Mantra try to make, but fail miserably.

Rating: 7- (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
02/17/2016 16:52