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FUNERUS ‘Festering Earth’ (Ibex Moon Records) (2003)
There are a lot of good things that came along with the rebirth of the worldwide Metal scene in the last couple of years. Not only did this rebirth bring the return of legendary bands such as Death Angel and Destruction, but it also gave the opportunity for outfits from that era to finally release their long-awaited debut albums. One of these bands is Funerus, from Pennsylvania USA.
The story of Funerus is more of a family and friends reuniting, rather than anything else. The band was originally formed in 1990 by Brad Heiple (guitar/vocals) and Jason Foust (drums). Soon they were joined by Jill McEntee (Jill Daily at the time) and together they formed the band’s first solid line up. It was the love for bands like Entombed and Grave that brought these three individuals together, and that love made them want to make a band with a similar sound – something that they partially achieved.
Many line up changes took place and the band almost came to disband in 1994. That’s when two members of Incantation, Kyle Severn (Drums) and John McEntee (guitars) came to the rescue. Jill, who shortly after became Mrs.McEntee, managed to keep the band going and eight years after leaving the band, managed to bring back founding member Brad Heiple. This time nothing stood in the band’s way. They rushed to the studio and finally recorded their debut album "Festering Earth".
In the beginning of this review I mentioned that it was the band’s love for the Swedish sound and for the early Napalm Death (what a band indeed!), that brought them together. These influences, and especially those of Grave, are quite easy to detect. On the other hand, it was bands like Bolt Thrower, Autopsy and Asphyx that came to my mind when I first listened to this album.
"Festering Earth" is a typical case of heavy mid-tempo songs with low chorded guitars that quite often gave a doom feeling to this thirty-minute track album. The bass sound is quite up front, and the fact that the band has a female bass player makes the comparison with Bolt Thrower almost inevitable. The band’s intention was to play 80’s Death Metal and creating a sound similar to the one from that era seems to have been the band’s top priority. The production is quite good and gives you the feeling that the album was recorded twenty years ago.
I don’t believe that the band created the most original album ever, but that was not their intention in the first place. The album was written for all the enthusiasts of the late 80’s -early 90’s Death Metal scene, and songs like "In the Trees", my personal favourite, "Suffering Life" and the groovy"Web of Deceit" will prove my point without any doubt.
Funerus created an album that will bring back memories for a period when Death and Possessed were probably the heaviest bands around. You have to listen to "Festering Earth" a few times before you pass any judgement, because it’s the kind of album that grows on you. I like it a lot, but I expect them to release an even better album in the near future. If you like classic Death Metal, then this is an album that you should have.
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Review by John Stefanis
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