eos-mf-reviews

Review from Aristocrazia Webzine

Wed, 15 Aug 2018 14:29:15 +0100

From: Aristocrazia Webzine

Published: August 6, 2018

È la prima volta che ci troviamo a che fare direttamente sia con gli Eye Of Solitude che con i Marche Funèbre, eppure entrambi i progetti sono a loro modo delle vecchie conoscenze.

Partendo dai secondi, nella formazione belga milita da ormai qualche anno Boris "Jabawock" Iolis, qui al basso, ma polistrumentista e compositore nel suo progetto personale, i Soul Dissolution. Ancora, il cantante Arne Vandenhoeck ha servito come rimpiazzo durante il tour europeo che i Disembowelment, pardon, gli Inverloch fecero nel 2016 a supporto di "Distance | Collapsed". D'altra parte, gli Eye Of Solitude sono una delle innumerevoli band in cui milita il bravo Daniel Neagoe, polistrumentista romeno di stanza a Londra e impegnato (tra gli altri) come tuttofare dei Bereft Of Light e batterista di Pantheist e Shape Of Despair. Come i Bereft Of Light, però, gli Eye Of Solitude sono un progetto suo, e — benché accanto a lui trovino spazio altri quattro musicisti — è proprio il romeno l'unico membro fondatore rimasto in formazione.

I due gruppi propongono in questo split una traccia ciascuno, di durata più o meno simile (poco meno di un quarto d'ora per i Marche Funèbre, poco più per gli Eye Of Solitude), ma le due declinazioni di doom metal in cui si cimentano non potrebbero essere più distanti. Gli Eye Of Solitude, come prevedibile visti i nomi cui si è legato Neagoe, sono figli della scuola funeral più melodica ed evocativa, affogano il loro dolore nelle tastiere, alternano growl a vocalizzi eufonici a corredo di queste tastiere e in generale asciugano tremendamente i testi, tanto che nei quattordici minuti di cui fanno uso non superano le cinquanta parole. Come quasi sempre accade quando si è alle prese con il funeral less is more, e quanto più le strutture sono semplici e istintive, tanto più ne giova la musica, e infatti "Collapse" farà impazzire tutti i fan degli Shape Of Despair, né più né meno. Non serve inventarsi cinque riff buoni, quando ne hai uno e puoi farlo durare dodici minuti suonando più piano che puoi, e poi puoi sempre sfruttare tastiere e sintetizzatori per aggiungere ancora due minuti in apertura e altri due minuti di coda. Ecco, gli Eye Of Solitude fanno questo, ma lo fanno con il giusto equilibrio tra classe e clamorosa ruffianaggine, e ne esce ciò che in gergo tecnico viene definito un pezzo della Madonna.

I Marche Funèbre, d'altro canto, sono più vari e arzigogolati, ma meno incisivi: sorta di versione doom dei Primordial, attingono a piene mani dal sound classico del genere per poi rielaborarne una versione estremizzata e appesantita. Riff e voci che hanno scritto Solitude Aeturnus nella doppia elica, ma da un momento all'altro vengono sostituiti da ripetizioni infinite di chitarrone abissali e growl e latrati. Un operato discreto, che tuttavia sconta un'eccessiva ripetitività: per riuscire a far convivere i suoni classici in una rilettura estrema da un quarto d'ora devi essere bravo, ed è ancora meglio se sei molto bravo. I Marche Funèbre sono solo bravini, e peccano di autoindulgenza abusando un po' troppo di quel buon riff, approfittando un po' troppo di quella buona intuizione e, come correttamente sottolineato da un commento letto online a loro riguardo, durano un po' troppo per riuscire a rimanere interessanti fino alla fine. Se sintetizzassero la loro proposta, farebbero il salto di qualità.

Reviewed by: Gabriele Strano

Review from Amped Up

Thu, 24 May 2018 17:52:00 +0100

From: Amped Up

Published: May 23, 2018

Original Link

Wat gebeurt er als twee reuzen de handen in elkaar slaan? Dan siddert en beeft al wat leeft, scheurt de aarde open, wordt alles wat ademt verzwolgen en blijft er enkel diepe, diepe duisternis achter. Voorwaar, voorwaar, een betere omschrijving van het split album van de death/doom grootheden Eye of Solitude en Marche Funèbre is moeilijk denkbaar.

Beide bands tekenen voor één nummer, maar wát een nummers! Het is duidelijk dat beide bands hier niet zomaar een overschotje vrijgeven, een extraatje tussen de albums door, waarbij het goeie materiaal opgespaard wordt voor het volgende album.

Van Eye of Solitude beluisteren wij al langer onvoorwaardelijk alles wat de heren ten gehore brengen. Hun nummer Collapse kon dus bezwaarlijk verrassend genoemd worden, aangezien het, zoals gewoonlijk, nauw aansluit bij eerder werk: diepe droefenis gemengd met loodzware ondergrondse klanken… En toch! Toch wist dit nummer de voorbije weken langzaam aan kracht te winnen, en toch weer iets extra toe te voegen aan dat heerlijke oeuvre dat al zo uitgebreid is. Is het de weemoedige zang waarmee het nummer opent, en die later (we zijn dan zo’n tien minuten ver) nog terugkeert? De bovenaardse sfeer die wordt opgeroepen, in contrast met de grunts die uit het diepste graf lijken te komen? Die, zoals gewoonlijk, indrukwekkende grunt van Daniel Neagoe die de hemel splijt en ijskristallen laat regenen? Die heerlijke repetitieve keyboardklanken die je langzaam doen wegzinken, en alles – de wereld, en alles wat zich daarop afspeelt – van op een afstand laten bekijken? Nee, verrast waren wij niet, en toch kruipt ook dit nummer weer langzaam onder je huid en kun je na een aantal weken blootstelling alleen maar weer bewonderend knikken voor wat Eye of Solitude hier laat horen. Laat varen, alle vrolijkheid, en dompel je onder in het zwartste zwart. Wie hier niet genoeg van krijgt, kan overigens ook terecht bij het vijfde album Slaves to Solitude dat ondertussen verschenen is.

Over het zwartste zwart gesproken. De eerste tonen van Marche Funèbre klinken bijna vrolijk nadat Eye of Solitude je naar de donkerste krochten meegesleurd heeft, maar vergis je niet: hier wordt letterlijk de duisternis bezongen, en dat met behulp van het gedicht Darkness van Lord Byron. Een prachtig gedicht, overigens: zorg er dus voor dat je lyrics bij de hand hebt als je hiernaar luistert. Darkness is een beschrijving, of misschien wel een lofzang, van de absolute duisternis. Stel je voor: de zon is gedoofd, de sterren verdwenen en de aarde hangt verlaten onder een maanloze hemel…. Marche Funèbre heeft het gedicht uitstekend naar zijn hand gezet en er een nummer rond gecomponeerd om U tegen te zeggen. De chaos wordt levendig verbeeld, de grunts gaan door merg en been, de clean vocals zijn intens, de Duisternis wordt aanbeden, de sterren uit de hemel geschreeuwd en daar krijg je nog eens gitaarlijnen bovenop die heel erg aan het beste van My Dying Bride doen denken. Kortom, je krijgt een heerlijke cocktail waarbij kille verbijstering en warme melancholie om beurten de hoofdrol opeisen. Een must-hear zijn voor elke fan van death/doom metal.

Na een paar luisterbeurten leunen wij murw geslagen achterover, mompelen ‘wat een album, wat een album’, en heb je helemaal niet het gevoel met een ‘tussendoortje’ van twee bands afgescheept te worden. Integendeel, dit is geen album om in de duisternis verborgen te houden, maar wel ééntje dat zonder twijfel staat te schitteren in onze jaarlijst.

Rating: 9/10

Review from Noizz Webzine

Thu, 24 May 2018 17:50:07 +0100

From: Noizz Webzine

Published: May 17, 2018

Original Link

El sello canadiense Hypnotic Dirge Records nos presenta el Split entre dos colosos del Doom, los ingleses EYE OF SOLITUDE y los belgas MARCHE FUNÈBRE, quienes han puesto un tema cada uno para dar forma a un álbum épico a base de sonidos oscuros que nos arrastran por el abismo durante algo más de media hora. Una verdadera delicia para los oídos de quienes apreciamos este tipo de música de tiempos lentos, majestuosidad, sombras y brutalidad, gracias a las diferentes perspectivas que cada banda tiene acerca del género. Dos temas diferentes, por tanto, pero perfectamente compatibles y altamente inspirados en ambos casos. A esto hay que sumarle la elegante presentación en formato digipack de varios cuerpos, que incluye las letras de los dos cortes con una imagen gráfica mediocre, en comparación a la grandeza de la música, pero aceptable.

Los encargados de abrir el Split son EYE OF SOLITUDE, quienes nos sumergen poco a poco en su desoladora atmósfera, hasta llegar a una especie de éxtasis de muerte a base de Funeral Doom. Puedes esperarte cadencias lentas y una gran pesadez sonora, con las inconfundibles voces heladas y de ultratumba de este género. Una mezcla de crudeza y brutalidad con la majestuosidad de un funeral o una tragedia épica. Y es que hasta de lo más oscuro se puede sacar algo hermoso, aunque tal vez ésta no sea la palabra más adecuada para describir el espíritu que hay detrás de un tema tan perturbador como “Collapse”, aunque sirve para que nos entendamos. De hecho se puede disfrutar mucho con un tema tan grandilocuente como el que nos ocupa.

El segundo, y último, tema del disco es el que protagonizan MARCHE FUNÈBRE, inspirados por un texto del romántico inglés Lord Byron, concretamente por el poema titulado “Darkness”, que sin duda es digno de una banda sonora como la que estos belgas le han otorgado. Un corte que en lo musical bebe de diferentes influencias, desde el Doom Metal clásico hasta el Death Metal, pero que mantiene en todo momento esa sombría solemnidad que se espera de la música oscura. De hecho han logrado que el dramatismo del poema cobre un tono más tortuoso y desolador todavía, potenciando de esta manera la experiencia creativa y sensorial.

En definitiva, dos bandas diferentes pero con un denominador común que es el Doom, con mayúsculas, que han sabido aportar cada una su dosis de oscuridad para un trabajo común grandioso. Dos temas que son verdaderos monolitos a la desesperación, trabajados con talento e inspiración, que no defraudarán a los seguidores de este tipo de sonidos extremos con tempos lentos. De modo que si esto es lo tuyo, no dejes pasar la oportunidad de hacerte con tu copia, merece la pena, nunca mejor dicho.

Rating: 9/10

Review from Ave Noctum

Wed, 16 May 2018 20:12:39 +0100

From: Ave Noctum

Published: May 16, 2018

Original Link

Two well respected bands in extreme doom circles go at it together for this split release, both with one track each. Due to the genre as you would expect that does not mean a shortage of material in any respect as the numbers weigh in with a combined total of 30 minutes between them.

Eye Of Solitude hail from our very own stomping ground of London town and contain musicians from a vast array of other projects in their ranks such as Bereft Of Light, Sidious, Vaer, Clouds; well a quick tot up past and present has no less than 32 listed so I won’t go on, you get the picture. Their discography contains 5 full length albums and various EP’s and splits and personally I particularly remember catching them live with Lifelover and Hypothermia and finding their stifling and somewhat claustrophobic take on funeral doom hitting the mark although not adding anything unexpected to the genre. That is pretty much a good summation of their track ‘Collapse’ here too. The 16 minute beast calmly ebbs in but melodically it is instantly transfixing, mellow but heady as it wafts around. Just when you are ready to drift off in its arms drums slowly crunch in, bass and guitar ballast strum and hideously low gurgling, beastly deep sea monster vocals fill the spaces between. Yep this is tried and tested funeral doom but that does not mean it can’t be totally appreciated by those who like some torturously slow drama in their lives. It meanders fluidly and the underlying textures are quite gorgeous seeping in under the hefty bass twang. It actually isn’t suffocating but quite arid and there is breath to be had here, the looseness in some of the fretwork along with the melody reminds a bit of Esoteric along with early Ahab and lovers of the art should find plenty to entrance them here. With some clean choral work and beautiful piano textures their work is actually somewhat graceful at conclusion. I am somewhat surprised the band haven’t got a bit of a bigger reputation and it appears that their next album released in June ‘Slaves To Solitude’ is only getting a very limited print run and is self-released.

Slightly shorter but with a lot more going on we move to Belgium and Marche Funèbre for their offering ‘Darkness.’ They have a few albums and a couple of smaller releases to their name too but although knowing them by title I am not so sure we have met before. This is a slightly different beast and twangs in with hefty bass definition and clean vocals that strike very much as belonging to the classic doom mould. However the singing is incredibly versatile throughout and as the weight of the music comes in and we get the impression of a slower doom / death modus operandi, throaty rasps add beastliness to proceedings. It is no surprise to discover that the band have no less than 4 vocal contributors on this particular number and as things growl the music picks up a pace and drives away with a headbanging heaviness. From Belgium they may well be but in essence they sound like they could come from a weather beaten Northern English town a good few decades ago and they project that sort of mood and a certain amount of anger with it. The Englishness actually is weaved in more intrinsically too as it appears the lyrics of the track are indebted to Lord Byron. This is heavy stuff and it builds and batters away solidly with some screeching rasps tempering the torment and striking as particularly impressive. There’s no disputing the track title here and even with the sun shining outside the Darkness within the music is quite profound.

Solid offerings from both artists here and this disc apparently paves the way for them both to embark on their first N American tour. I hope they turn some heads and get suitable appreciation on their journey.

Rating: 7/10

Reviewed by: Pete Woods

Review from Zwaremetalen

Fri, 11 May 2018 17:27:08 +0100

From: Zware metalen

Published: May 8, 2018

Original Link

Zowel het Belgische Marche Funèbre als het internationale Eye of Solitude zijn in de doomwereld aan een blijvende opmars bezig. Dat vertaalt zich niet alleen in het stijgende aantal fans, ook in het aantal releases. Het vorig jaar uitgebrachte album Into The Arms Of Darkness van Marche Funèbre verscheen op BadMoodMan Music en wordt nu ook door Hypnotic Dirge heruitgebracht. Later dit jaar is er ook de nieuwe Eye Of Solitude, genaamd Slaves Of Solitude. En ondertussen hebben we deze split om van te genieten.

Twee nummers, dus van elke band eentje (wiskunde is altijd al mijn stokpaardje geweest). We beginnen met Eye of Solitude en het dik zestien minuten durende Collapse. Een nummer dat zijn naam niet gestolen heeft. Na een heel erg lange intro, volgt een afdalende opbouw die één van de sterkste is die ik van deze band gehoord heb. Terwijl de afdaling zich langzaam verder inzet, stijgt het toetsengehalte en de latente spanning. Enkele minuten voor het einde van het nummer neemt de spanning een andere wending aan en gaat Daniël over van diepe funeral, naar een abrasieve wanhoopsfrequentie. Op het einde is de wanhoop en diepe tristesse compleet, met een cleane etherische stem die steeds meer op de achtergrond terecht komt en uiteindelijk verdwijnt. Enkel bitterzoete pianoklanken weerklinken nog… tot het helemaal stil wordt. Beangstigend mooi.

Marche Funèbre brengt een gans ander doomstuk. Darkness is een vrij complex en minder evident nummer, waarin verschillende zangstijlen en keelklanken afgewisseld worden met viriel/proggie klinkend basspel en melodische metalvariaties, gaande van traditionele doom, gothic metal, black/doom en nog een pak andere mutaties van doom. Er is maar één echte constante: Darkness. In tegenstelling tot Eye of Solitude is dit geen constante afdaling, maar een verdwaalde wandeling door de duisternis met een hoop vertakkingen. Een nummer dat meer luisterbeurten nodig heeft dan zijn voorganger om in te werken (zoals dat dan heet).

Hypnotic Dirge Records mag pochen met deze uitgave, de kopers ook. Doom op zijn best, anno 2018. En dan nu die langspelers!

Reviewed by: Bart Al Foet

Review from Wings of Death

Tue, 20 Mar 2018 15:39:17 +0100

From: Wings of Death

Published: March 19, 2018

Original Link

Keurig aansluitend bij mijn bespreking van Faal een paar dagen geleden, is het maar een relatief kleine stap naar de hier te bespreken split-EP. Dat zit zo: Faal bracht in 2015 een split uit in samenwerking met Eye Of Solitude. De Britten gingen vorige maand opnieuw een dergelijke samenwerking aan met een andere persoonlijke doomfavoriet afkomstig van de lage landen: Marche Funèbre. In beide gevallen is de split-release een combinatie met een gezamenlijke tour. Beide bands leveren hier elk één nieuwe track aan met een speelduur van om en nabij het kwartier. Overigens is er nog een link, bedenk ik me nu: Faal en Eye Of Solitude hebben in Remco Verhees tegenwoordig dezelfde drummer.

Collapse van Eye of Solitude neemt als eerste - letterlijk - de tijd en bouwt ruim vier minuten aan ambiente arpeggio's, treurig gekreun en ander atmosferisch voorspel op, voordat Daniel Neagoe's grom, zijn handelsmerk natuurlijk, na vier en een halve minuut de boel open breekt. Vanaf daar behoudt het nummer een gestaag, plooibaar ritme, met de sombere melodieën van gitarist Steffan Gough en Neagoe's geweeklaag als voornaamste aantrekkingskrachten. Tegen de tijd dat de synths langzaam uitlopen naar het einde, ben je uitgeput en voldaan. Ondanks de uitingen van verdriet en een verstikkende atmosfeer biedt de productie voldoende helderheid om het geheel ontspannen tot je te nemen. Ik geniet dan ook met volle teugen van deze track!

Aansluitend begint de bijdrage van Marche Funèbre: Darkness. Arne Vandenhoeck kraait, kreunt, huilt en krijst maniakaal - ook zijn handelsmerk - gedurende de duur van het nummer, op de hielen gezeten door de meest mistroostige riffs die je kunt bedenken. Dat die bijna eindeloos herhaald worden is niet zozeer kenmerkend voor deze band, maar past hier prima. Darkness is in eerste instantie wat vlotter van opbouw, en bevat ook de nodige tempo- en ritme-wisselingen, maar dreigt naar het einde van het nummer toe toch wat te verzanden in iets te veel van hetzelfde.

Gelukkig wordt Marche Funèbre gered door datgene waar de band wel sterk in is, net als hun Britse collega's natuurlijk: het neerzetten van een uiterst beklemmende sfeer. Naast de overeenkomsten zit er natuurlijk ook wel verschil tussen de twee bands. Marche Funèbre is met hun roots in de traditie van de 'Peaceville drie' vooral meer 'metal' dan Eye Of Solitude, die het meer van hun, overigens uiterst efficiënte, sombere toonzetting moeten hebben. Wat mij betreft is deze split verplichte aanschaf voor elke liefhebber van eigentijdse (funeral) doom.

Reviewed by: Chris van der Aa

Review from Wonderbox Metal

Thu, 08 Mar 2018 18:12:09 +0100

From: Wonderbox Metal

Published: March 6, 2018

Original Link

Eye of Solitude are from the UK and Marche Funèbre are from Belgium. They have teamed up to offer this doom-filled split release.

I’m a big fan of Eye of Solitude’s work, although it seems that somehow I seem to have missed out on the band’s last album. Regardless, Sui Caedre, Canto III, Dear Insanity, and their split with Faal were all wonderful examples of the band’s evocative funeral doom. On this split the band contribute the song Collapse, which lasts 16 minutes.

The song is atmospheric and mournful. Sorrow and woe fill every part of the music, from the keyboard-saturated opening section, to the heavy, monolithic guitars. The song is slow and unwinds gradually with a glacial intensity. Emotive leads are used to enhance the suffering that the music portrays, working in concert with the thick, heavy rhythm guitars to add colour to the walls of distortion that come crashing down at an inevitably crushing pace.

The singer’s deep deathgrowls are as well-performed as ever, and his voice seems to have a barely-restrained feral quality to it these days, adding an edge of danger to the edges of his pitch-black delivery. His is a voice that you can fall into and never return.

Oh Eye of Solitude, it’s great to reconnect with you. Collapse is a first-rate funeral doom song.

Before listening to this release I was unfamiliar with Marche Funèbre’s work, although I had certainly heard of them. They play epic death/doom, and I very much like what I hear here. Their song is named Darkness, and lasts 14 minutes.

Marche Funèbre combine heavy riffs, mournful leads, and atmospheric delivery. The music is more upbeat than that of Eye of Solitude’s, but still played in a sorrowful way. There’s a blackened aspect to parts of the music, but the majority is 90s-styled doom metal, stretched out and delivered with epic grandeur.

The singer performs deep growls, scathing screams, and clean singing. All sound very good, and I’m happy with whatever style is being used. His deathgrowls are quite aggressive, his screams are savagely scathing, and his clean vocals have a dramatic/theatrical quality to them that works very well, (he reminds me of the singer of …in the Woods in some ways).

This is a highly enjoyable split between two bands that know how to explore the darkness. Fuelled by negative emotions and filled with feelings of despair, this is a split you can easily lose yourself in.

Highly recommended.

Review from Doom-Metal.com

Thu, 08 Mar 2018 18:07:53 +0100

From: Doom-Metal.com

Published: March 3, 2018

Original Link

Okay - splits. Never my favourite format: they're a pain to tag correctly and even more of a pain to file in a physical collection. But they are a valid way of combining costs, exposure, labelmates or whatever, so we're kinda stuck with them. In this case, it's a release in support of the joint US tour between UK-based Funeral Doomsters Eye Of Solitude and Belgian Death/Doom band Marche Funèbre, so at least there's an obvious rationale and justification behind it (which also explains the simultaneous re-release of Marche Funèbre's last full-length 'Into The Arms Of Darkness').

I'll also add that as a pro-label release, the 6-panel digi format is a tidy and nice-to-have presentation (asuming you can figure out where to file it in your CD shelves). Not too fancy, but it gives you all the essentials, plus the lyrics, to mull over during the half-hour runtime, divided almost perfectly equally between the two tracks, both new for this recording.

Eye Of Solitude open proceedings with a spacious and atmospheric piece that steadily unfolds in a drifting Clouds-like fashion. The simple and elegant introduction of wordless clean voice and gentle guitar builds to a chugging Funeral riff-driven section, after which elements of the two themes alternate on their way to a frail solo piano outro. And if that description sounds somewhat familiar, well, it is. Of late, it seems Daniel N.'s projects, including the aforementioned bands, have all been converging towards that same sound. Which, if I'm honest - lush, emotive, heartstring-tugging and beautifully presented as it undeniably is - has a gratingly obvious inbuilt limitation. It's music that so rigidly adheres to an achingly lovely expression of grief and sorrow that there isn't much room for manouevre or interpretation: at some point, it's almost inevitable one of the releases in that vein will perfectly voice your own feelings of the time, perhaps even become part of the soundtrack of your own life - and equally inevitable that, however technically, perfectly similar the others are, they'll lack that special bond. Where 'Dear Insanity' and 'Doliu' were special, secret treasures - like a winding trail to a dark and hidden forest glade - a fistful of follow-up pieces in such similar vein seem more like a well-travelled drive to a woodland picnic area car-park full of tourists. If you've never heard EOS or Clouds before, 'Collapse' may become your perfect delight: if you have, it's a fairly luke-warm reheating of a once-fresh formula.

Fortunately, there's more sparkle in Marche Funèbre's 'Darkness', another of their periodic ventures in turning classic poetry into rolling thunder. The big difference being that although the band has an equally distinctive sound, it isn't one that adheres to any particular strictures, preferring to forge a rather wilful mix of Black, Death and Metal influences into a complete, often quite progressive, structure. Byron's poem was written in 1816 - the 'Year Without A Summer', when volcanic ash clouded the skies and a complete solar eclipse led to predictions of the imminent death of the sun - and its theme of the extinction of all life on earth is fertile material for a Doom exploration. Though it could be tackled with the remorseless inevitability of, say, Worship's 'Terranean Wake', Marche Funèbre opt for a more cataclysmic and in-your-face approach, with swirling, turbulent waves of riffs sweeping one after another, relenting only at the very end before darkness finally swallows the universe. They may have to go into that good night, but it doesn't have to be gentle. Occasional oddly-accented phrasing aside, I reckon Byron would be pleased with the raucous, dynamic results - he was, after all, pretty much a headbanging rock'n'roll hellraiser himself. And even if he wouldn't, I am.

Whilst you may see this as a package aimed at completionists, in actual fact it's probably better as an introduction point to both bands. There's enough meat on it, with the two long tracks - each quite typically representative of the bands' differing styles - that you could certainly pick up on whether you'd want to investigate their catalogue further. So, if it's primarily about helping break into the US market, I'd call that job done. For us Europeans, it is a little more nuanced whether you'd need it, but I'd certainly give it a net 'worth investigation'. I do feel a little guilty about criticising EOS, given how beautifully-formed their offering actually is. But, nonetheless, I stuck on the awesome diverse and multi-dimensional territories of 'Canto III' earlier, and, really - Clouds already do a perfectly good job of sounding like Clouds. EOS certainly don't have to bind themselves to the same restrictions, and I really hope this will mark the end of the singles, splits and shorts that have, perhaps unrepresentatively, taken their recent output in that direction. Probably needless to add, but this is most definitely going to be filed under "M", and it's not one of those where I feel it's worth buying a second copy to stick under "E"...

Rating: 7/10

Reviewed by: Mike Liassides

Review from Metal Injection (Funeral Doom Fridays)

Sat, 03 Mar 2018 17:39:10 +0100

From: Metal Injection (Funeral Doom Fridays)

Published: March 2, 2018

Original Link

Finally, the weekend is upon us. What better way to kick it off than with the latest installment of "Funeral Doom Friday". For those who are new to this column; each week features a new or classic album from the realm of extreme doom. Much of funeral/death doom's might comes from an oppressive emotional weight and the use of death or black metal motifs (played at a trudging pace, of course.) Pioneers like Mournful Congregation, Evoken, and Esoteric have mastered this blend of dirge and destruction. For 25 years, they have methodically built compositions that stretch for dozens of minutes all while keeping fans enthralled. Time has elapsed since the days of Thergothon and much like the world around us, the genre has evolved. Today's modern bands contort the very construct of the genre, breeding darkly refreshing new work. Their work thankfully gives this column plenty of material to share.

Enjoy this week's post and check out prior features here. Please feel free to also share thoughts or suggestions for future installments in the comments section below or to me directly on Twitter.

It seems like every other week Funeral Doom Friday features something with Daniel Neagoe in it. Nevertheless, it is always with great reason. This week is certainly no different. Neagoe's Eye of Solitude returned at the end of February with a brand new split with Belgium's Marche Funèbre. The former plays a pretty classical version of funeral doom whereas the latter takes more of a gothic death doom stance. These two bands—both who contribute a single track—combine for a wonderful variety that features many of extreme doom's best ideas.

Eye of Solitude's "Collapse" kicks things off. Neagoe's now ubiquitous voice and growls slowly emerge from a cascade of strings as the track unfurls. It's very much resemblant of Ahab's Call of the Wretched Sea. It's A slow burn; one that takes a number of minutes to develop, but after nearly five minutes "Collapse" morphs into a staggering dirge. Occasional keys arise as punctuation to particularly morose segments of the track. Neagoe's undoubtedly a master of this style of music. His recent output across various bands like Clouds and Shape of Despair in addition to Eye of Solitude solidify his position as a modern great. He, as well as Chris Davies, Steffan Gough, and Remco Verhees, pick up where they left off with 2016's sensational Cenotaph.

Marche Funèbre, on the other hand, turns up the tempo—invoking more mid-paced motifs and classic doom rhythms at times. This Belgian quintet, much like Eye of Solitude, follows up an acclaimed album from the recent past entitled Into the Arms of Darkness. Much of "Darkness" draws from memories of early Paradise Lost or My Dying Bride, especially with the mix of clean and harsh vocals from Arne Vandenhoeck and Peter Egberghs. This new track from Marche Funèbre is a nice shift in pace from Eye of Solitude lugubrious doom and wields a much different—sort of deadly romanticism—power.

Both bands begin a west coast US tour starting next week. In conjunction with this tour, Hypnotic Dirge Records is releasing this split as well as Marche Funèbre's last full-length album, Into the Arms of Darkness. The split album, as well as the tour dates, are below. Physical copies of the album are available from Hypnotic Dirge Records and Cimmerian Shade Recordings.

Review by: Cody Davis

Review from Offering Webzine

Thu, 01 Mar 2018 07:41:02 +0100

From: Offering Webzine

Published: February 23, 2018

Original Link

The new split album featuring two lengthy tracks by England’s Eye of Solitude and Belgium’s Marche Funèbre perfectly represents two facets of sorrow and two sides of underground extreme doom metal.

On “Collapse” Eye Of Solitude dwells in an impossibly obscure sonic realm starting with surreal calm atmospheric soundscapes evoking a pale sense of serenity but also intense desolation. When heavy guitar riffs take the lead with grave tonalities you will recognize the painfully slow mournfulness typical of doom metal which is definitely amplified by deep growls while scattered melodic guitars seem to shimmer through the overwhelming darkness with understated elegance eventually leading to atmospheric moments of contemplative tranquility.

Marche Funèbre’s track “Darkness” stays true to its title as since the very beginning soft guitars & bass lines channel exquisitely darkened vibes enhanced by dramatic vocals. Soon rhythmic dynamics will acquire heavier gritty textures that still hold an inner melancholic melodic soul matched by a mix of raging growls and soulful clean vocals. As the song naturally evolves, guitars slow down significantly to evoke the slow burning heaviness and gloom of traditional doom metal before returning to a poetic ensemble of enchanting melodic arpeggios swiftly followed by a final crushing burst of faster & energetic grooves.

While what these two songs have in common certainly can be found in the darkest depths of traditional extreme doom metal, true lovers of this timeless genre will appreciate the diverse style approach offered of Eye Of Solitude and Marche Funèbre.

Reviewed by: Alexiel Divine