Funeral Procession "Schmerz Aus Licht / The Red Vine Litanies" allover printed Cassette

In collaboration with Millennial Visions we present to you a collection of two classic Black Metal MLPs from Germany's FUNERAL PROCESSION for the first time on Cassette Tape format. While the former displays the more hypnotic and depressive side of the band, the latter is an anthem dedicated to the spirit in wine and the beast in man it unleashes.

- One Cassette
- Two classic Funeral Procession MLPs
- Old-school Reversible 8-panel J-card
- Full Body CMYK UV-printed cassette-shells
- TOTAL BLACK METAL!

A-Side: Schmerz Aus Licht MLP (2006)
B-Side: The Red Vine Litanies MLP (2008)
Limited to 150 copies!!

This one-song ep was quite difficult to locate and puchase. However, as a huge fan of Funeral Procession's prior full-length, I would stop at nothing! Was it worth the bizarre search? Sure, but only for existing FP fans, I'll wager. For more than one reason, this made me nostalgic for Venom's "At War With Satan" lp-sidelong classic. The song is not as diverse as that Venom landmark, but it does manage to display variety and doesn't get dull. What first suggested the comparison to me was a repeated vocal line by Count Gothmog, that sounded eerily like Cronos. I much prefer the Count's usual vocals, and if taken out of context these certain lines on this ep would be a big turn-off. But I believe they were not a conscious attempt at Cronos homage. The music is certainly much more dark than Venom!
What we end up with is a multi-faceted song that manages to remain very basic, riff and sound-wise. Nothing pompous and progressive; the only parts that could be confused with that are a few abrupt passages of gregorian-style chantings. The main recurring and mutable riff is as good as any off FP's full-length. It does not repeat enought to get tiresome. The listener is treated to a gamut of tempos, including a rhythmic "rock"-style segment that breaks up the usually mid-paced black metal tempo. This could be viewed as a bridge, and not a "motif", as Darkthrone so often employs nowadays. This one, long song ends long before one realizes how long it is, so I guess that is an indication of how good it is.
The sound is ghastly and dark, perhaps a bit more raw compared to their previous work. It is difficult to describe; it is not a basement production, but it certainly is not slick or razor-sharp. It is not muffled or nekro, it is perhaps more akin to old 80's thrash sounds, updated. Nothing sounds out-of-place in the mix.
The package itself is, in my opinion, very cool. It is a very slim, fold-open cover made of a heavy art paper, printed with dark ink on a dark background to create an obscure look. The cd slips into a horizontal slot...I am surprised that more artists aren't using this packaging. There is a foldout lyricsheet/poster...and those lyrics. ODD. A Bacchanalean tribute to red wine. Yes. One of the shortcomings of the packaging is that the lyrics are hard to see and read, but from what I've made out they are a classical literary style ode to red wine, suggesting the role of that liquid throughout history and psyche. Perhaps one of the oddest themes I've seen in metal! It is not a "party party party" song about drinking, but quite poetic.
This is one of those releases that is geared toward existing fans, and is certainly not a proper starting point for new fans. Of if this is your first experience with this band, simply be aware that the riffs and vocals are what is representative of them, not the song structure or exact production sound. If you are a fan of Funeral Procession, by all means get this(but don't knock yourself out finding it like I had to...it isn't QUITE worth that.)

Sample: 

Sample: