Otesanek / Loss / Orthodox / Mournful Congregation ‎"Four Burials" Split CD

Fo(u)r Burials is a lost classic of extreme doom, and has now finally, reverently been brought back into circulation by The Flenser. Featuring monolithic emissions from MOURNFUL CONGREGATION, LOSS, ORTHODOX and OTESANEK, this four-track album reeks of desolation, the gnashing of teeth and virulent decay. “Heavy” does not begin to do these songs justice, the riffs stumble and crawl through an acid bath of feedback and distortion, dragging themselves along on broken knees. Funereal horde Mournful Congregation hail from Australia, and recently released a much-hailed compilation album via 20 Buck Spin, as well as news of a brand-new full-length and virgin US tour. With Despond (Profound Lore), Nashville’s Loss released one of the most painfully beautiful and critically-acclaimed albums of 2010, entombing listeners with a richly melodic, flowing shroud of depression. Orthodox’s ultra-minimal, droning, ambient take on the traditional rites of doom bleeds forth from Spain and belies the myth that sun breeds contentment. Otesanek, now-defunct and much-missed, crawled out of the filth and desperation of Philadelphia; their sludgy, crusty, unbearably brutal sound remains unmatched today, The quartet of compositions on Fo(u)r Burials are all very different, yet drawn together by a shared atmosphere of longing, sadness and disgust for that which we call life. The cult of death is calling.

When a 4-track album needs to be pressed as a double album then you know that it wont sound like Ramones. The Four Burials split is for you that loves Doom, Funeral Doom and Drone. First out is the sludge funeral doom act Otesanek from Philadelphia which has a song that consists of extremely slow riffs. The doom act Loss from Nashville are out next with a track that runs for 14 minutes. Distorted funeral doom with low death growls. The intro feels a bit repeted and too long but after that comes one of the bands best songs. Orthodox from Seville in Spain has a loyal following and its always interesting to hear what they have come up with. This is an avant-garde doom that arent afraid of going all kinds of place even adding free jazz influences. The track is extremely slow and relaxed and feels more like an interlude than a doom track. Australian doom metal act Mournful Congregation are always enjoyable. Such an equal measure of being both beautiful, somber and mournful at the same time. The music her is as somber as they always are but with a warm feeling. The track is minimalist in the extreme, but the imagery created by the music is powerful enough that this couldn’t matter less. So all in all this show four quite different kind of doom metal, ranging from the sensitively melodic, to the beautiful, to the depressed, and to the crushing. There is more than enough variety on this to keep you interested, and the split flows very well as a whole, as opposed to being merely as a collection of singles like so many other split releases.

Sample Otesanek: 

Sample Mournful Congregation: