Funeral Doom Metal band from Finland
Long after I thought that funeral doom had completely shot its creative wad and was doomed to plumb ever-deeper levels of Remembrance-worshiping pap, I find this little gem at Pale Horse Recordings! This was a 100% blind buy only driven by Andrew's recommendation of it as 'Wormphlegmy' (which is both true and not true as you'll see), and I was amazed by just how good this is. It's easily one of the top 10 funeral doom releases of 2009, and might be in the top 25 or so of the genre as a whole. Lordamor treads an incredibly fine line between more extreme and dark funeral doom ala Wormphlegm and more romantic, depressive styles like, yes, Remembrance, while adding a healthy dose of individual creativity to the mix. What comes out the other side is a funeral doom album that achieves what was once thought nearly impossible: to be really long, really slow, and really simple all the time without getting boring at any point.
Well, perhaps the 'simple' may be a misnomer- there are some surprisingly intricate arrangements from time to time, driven by (as usual) interaction between the slow-chord-plummet rhythm guitar and the pick-small-high-notes lead guitar, with a sense of melody which seems a lot more advanced than many of their compatriots in the scene. Still, the music is, for the most part, typically minimal: a couple guitar lines, some plodding, nonintricate drums, and a bass which simply follows the other strings. Comparisons to Wormphlegm are very logical and at the same time entirely off the mark; Tyranny is a bit closer. Lordamor has that Finnish Wormphlegm-associated funeral doom sound in that they enjoy their odd chord interactions and flashes of dissonance alternating with depressive melody, but there's a certain austerity and confusion to the sound that almost owes to sludge acts. In addition to this, the influence of neo-traditional romantic funeral doom is certainly there in the more obvious and bold melodies; however, the band never seems to get as simple and saccharine as, for the millionth time, Remembrance- they have a flair for less even melodies and rhythms, allowing the listener to use a little more brain power in order to access a lot more content.
Lordamor are occasionally classified as a blackened funeral doom band, and this is mildly applicable; the melodies are occasionally black metal derived and the vocals are a reverbed shout/howl which brings to mind some basement depressive artists (though executed with a lot more taste). In truth, there's little that Lordamor does which is exceptionally different from other funeral doom artists- they simply do it better than nearly all of them. Like other funeral doom, Lordamor's music is composed of slowly shifting textures of simple melodies and textures, but the layering in Lordamor's music is so delicate and organic as to be almost invisible. It's hard to tell when a riff changes in Lordamor's music in the best way possible: the music envelops the listener without shoving cliched ideas down their throats.
Still, even within single riffs, Lordamor are ahead of the game, and in a rather odd stroke, it's the leads which end up being more conventional than the rhythm guitars. The riffs tend to be melodic in a highly familiar but sideways way, as though they're typical melodies being played with highly unusual chord shapes, and the way the leads and rhythm play off each other is done with a precision and care lacking in other artists. The production aids this impression greatly, a grey, hazy, rainy wall which brings to mind Abyssmal Sorrow with less polish and intensity. It's also a matter of mood: Lordamor places rather brutal, dissonant sections immediately next to desperately sad ones, almost like a funeral doom spin on early Type O Negative; it's as though the band is trying to express how an emotional state feels rather than how a particular emotion sounds. My pick for album crown jewel would be the near-closer 'Nothing Remains', which would still be the best were it only the first minute and a half alone, with its unbelievably daring and naked riff under ecstatically, beautifully sad and psychedelic guitar solo. It may be one of my very favorite sections of a song ever, it's so perfectly crafted. Pure brilliance.
In short, Lordamor is one of a tiny handful of bands that is saving funeral doom and if you think that the genre has even the slightest bit of quality left in it you should probably be supporting these guys. The funeral doom scene is a fucking wasteland at the moment and it's going to take all of us together to stop listening to Nortt and make things better for everyone. In addition, you get a fantastic album as well. Highly recommended for anyone even remotely into funeral doom.
Sample: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
