Funeral Woods ‎"Ashes Of The New Age" CD

"Ashes of the New Age" is the third release by Mexican black metal band Funeral Woods. After years of listening to their demo, all I can say is that this EP exceeded my expectations because they sound way better than before. Their demo was good, kinda flat at times but this, this is where things started to get intense. The music in here is a direct combination of old school black metal with some melodic parts but most of the time, violent and fast, just the way black metal should be. The vocals are harsh and generally delivered with a macabre and grotesque 90's black metal attitude, this is an outstanding performance by the singer as he does not hesitate in showing his talent and vocal strength with some really powerful and ghastly shrieks. Perfect job for sure.
One great thing that I enjoyed a lot about these songs is the virtuosity of the guitarists, there is a huge doze of great riffs, acoustic and clean guitar passages as well as majestic solos that work really well because they make the album more dynamic and fresh sounding. Adding these elements to old school black metal can bring a new and interesting way of perceiving it as it melts together the characteristic atmosphere of 90's black metal with a new level of melodic yet aggressive music. I also dig a lot when they play heavier riffs like the fast ones in "Bloodied Dream", those riffs bring in such aggressiveness into the mix because the notes on the guitar are being played really fast while the rest of the band follows them at full speed. Hell, I can't exactly tell where this inspiration was drawn from and I'm uncertain if both guitar players do these solos or just one of them but in any case, these guitar riffs and solos are one of the strongest points of this EP for sure. Fantastic stuff.
The solid bass tone is very fancy and can be heard well, especially during some lighter parts, except for "I, The Witchfinder General" where we can hear the bass through the entire being played in a really aggressive way which creates a totally brutal sound while supported deliciously by masterful and fast drum work. The drumming is another strong point, most of the time being fast but also precise during slow parts, perhaps the double bass might use a little bit more volume, in my opinion. Still, the rhythm sections created by these 2 instruments are very well played throughout the whole album. A remarkable example of what I'm talking about is heard at the end of "Return of the Blackened Ones" where there is also a really nice clean guitar, all this together kind of reminds me like a mix between Immortal and Satyricon.
The diversity in this EP is very, very notable. If you compare it to their previous demo, there is much more in the EP to offer to the listener. I'm very convinced by this EP, the band's sound is just something one must experience in a dark room, alone, with decent headphones. You'll get the perfect experience because of the emotion in the howling vocals mixed together with the intensity the strings and drumming add up to the very atmosphere the band creates with its masterful songwriting. The talent of the band is very much seen with such energetic and explosive songs as they provide us with that primitive and rough style from the old days, yet they are still able to manage to keep it all together tight.
Finally, the only bad thing that I can think about this great EP is the beginning of "Ashes", honestly, that empty bass guitar part just playing over there with no direction is kinda dull, I even thought it was a mixing issue, fortunately it doesn't last too long and it was not repeated in any other song, so that was just a small mistake. The overall production is OK, clear, but sometimes feels a little bit thin. I listened to this release while writing this review and I must say that I enjoyed it a lot, they have a sense of melody that many black metal bands just don't have these days. I can't really pick a favorite song as that would be unfair and actually so difficult to do! But I will totally recommend it to anyone who likes old school black metal.

Sample: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...