ALBUM REVIEW: Flesh For Funerals Eternal – Feral

Hailing from the far north of Sweden, on the north-eastern coast of the Gulf of Bothnia, Skellefteå’s FERAL are gearing up for the release of their third full-length – Flesh For Funerals Eternal. Following on from two strong records – Dragged To The Altar and Where Dead Dreams Dwell, in 2011 and 2015 respectively – and their solid 2016 EP From The Mortuary, FERAL‘s Transcending Obscurity Records debut sees the Swedish death metallers deliver some of their strongest material to date.

It would be easy to equate FERAL to one of the legions of old-school Swedish death metal clones that have dominated the Scandinavian death metal bastion over the last few decades. But that would be a lazy comparison. Sure, there is plenty of influence across Flesh For Funerals Eternal from GRAVE and DISMEMBER, but FERAL aren’t simply regurgitating their forefathers. Throughout their newest record, plenty of other influences notably come into play – in particular, there is a subtle undercurrent of black metal throughout the album, and plenty of thrashy flourishes not too dissimilar to the Germanic thrash movement.

Flesh For Funerals Eternal pulls no punches, diving straight into the fray with three of the album’s stand out tracks. Forgoing any hint of easing the listener in, Vaults Of Undead Horror rips straight for the jugular with one of the album’s more memorable riffs, injecting thrashy lead breaks and mini-solos for good measure. Black Coven Secrets maintains the intensity FERAL established with the opening track, grinding onward with chainsaw riffing and occasional bursts of blackened flourishes. Complete with a memorable chorus, and one of the best solos of the album, Black Coven Secrets stands as a clear album highlight. Completing the opening trio of bangers, Gathering Their Bones showcases a stompier brand of death metal. Carrying an infectious groove that drives the track and nicely juxtaposes the chaotic breaks, one of the album’s biggest choruses and some more of the blistering lead work on display, it is set to be a live favourite.

The rest of Flesh For Funerals Eternal continues the trend of strength established with the opening three songs. Video single Of Gods No Longer Invoked brings hints of a more melodic edge to FERAL‘s trademark sound, with memorable riffs and subtle intricacies that only reveal themselves on repeated listens. The drum, bass and vocal lead break before the blistering solo is a highlight moment from the entire record, and showcases a strength to front man David Nilsson‘s voice that is sometimes obscured in the mix. The one-two punch of Stygian Void and Buried towards the end of Flesh For Funerals Eternal are a another pair of stand out tracks, with Stygian Void creating a dark, sinister atmosphere and the record’s penultimate track offers up a five-minute blast of unrestrained brutality.

FERAL have crafted arguably the strongest album in their discography for their Transcending Obscurity Records debut. Though both previous additions to FERAL‘s back-catalogue were solid, Flesh For Funerals Eternal showcasing a more focused sound, with mature song-writing and a myriad of influenced combining into a feast of well-executed extremity. The production doubles down on the old-school influences of the band, coating the record in a murky, raw fog that hearkens back to the filthy sounding recordings of early GRAVE. Though their isolation from the iconic Stockholm and Gothenburg death metal scenes has perhaps made FERAL‘s career slow to start, they prove to be one of the strongest Swe-death outfits on the modern era.

Rating: 8/10

Flesh For Funerals Eternal is out now via Transcending Obscurity Records. 

Like FERAL on Facebook.