Haling from southern California,
The Funeral Pyre play fast and melodic black metal. They were formed back in 2001 and though they may be a new band and, as far as I know, not yet signed, they sound quite mature already now. It's very nice to hear that not all new american metal bands play some form of annoying hardcore. This band can actually play on their instruments. I categorize them as black metal but they have elements of many other genres in their music. The screaming sometimes change to deep growls.
We have guitar harmonies that would have made
Iron Maiden proud, we have some parts with acoustic guitar (though very short) and we have atmospheric keyboard parts.
The Funeral Pyre certainly never gets boring.
The first thing you really notice is the singer. Most of the time he uses high screams, but also deeper growls are used from time to time. The vocals are high in the mix and with a very dry sound which becomes them very well. The vocals are very strong and powerful. This guy is very talented and he has made a rock solid performance on
Immersed in the Flames of Mankind.
Generally the production is ok. And since this is an unsigned band, I'll raise that to pretty good. The guitar sound is good, though the solo sound could be better, it's way too thin and too much in the background. There are only a few guitar solos and they deserve a better sound than this. The solos are short, melodic and to the point. The keyboards are kept in the background most of the time but they have a few parts where they have the focus.
The songs are well-written and interresting enough to keep my attention for the whole cd. I don't really feel that there are any songs that aren't up to the standard of the rest of the album, although there aren't really any that stand out from the rest. There is however one riff at the end of
World of Vengeance that really makes you stop up and listen. Quite strange but very harmonic at the same time with the 2 guitars playing two different voices that fit well together. A few more riffs like this and they will have a hit cd on their hands. Keep up the good work.
I expect the next few years to be good to
The Funeral Pyre. They should be signed soon on this cd unless my ears are lying to me. And when they've had a few years more of experience, I'll be very curious to hear their next cd. This is good melodic black metal. So if you like black metal, give
The Funeral Pyre a chance.
Immersed in the Flames of Mankind is a solid cd from a band that we'll hear more from for sure. Oh, and another thing... The hidden sounds like it is taken from the recording sessions and it is hillarious!
Written by
Tajs Saturday, April 23, 2005
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