Funeral Mask

This starts out somewhat promising, since the first track is actually pretty good. At first it can sound like a dark metal-like band similar to something such as Bethlehem's Dictius here on the first instrumental song and the beginning of the first track. But honestly even after the first track finishes, there is something that sounds amiss.

Hemlock play black metal in a form that is very reminiscent of an early/mid-90's Norwegian sound. The influences are imbedded throughout the music, carried by guitar-centric melodies with slower break downs on occasion, simple thrash-like patterns and muted blasts are just as present. The guitars take on tremolo riffs most of the time, with a simple structure and an occasional riff that is more complex with melody. When they play in simplistic mode and just use a few chords, it honestly feels like they're afraid to cross the street without holding someone else's hand. Like looking left and right, feeling out your options before venturing further. So, them just riding the line most of the time, turns into an abundance of filler material, and feel-arounds on the fret board. The same type of guy you spot at the beach with a metal-detector searching for a prize is about the only type of personality that would have enough patience to sit around and wait for a score.

Even with that mentioned, the vocalist is actually one of the biggest faulting points here. He sounds screechy, whiney and just plain out of his element. He takes the first two aspects mentioned and adds annoying levels to them that would shut you out from concentrating on the underlying music at hand. Just imagine something like one of the most irritating punk vocalists you've heard, then imagine that applied to black metal, and then attempting to become realistically grim. Like the rest of Funeral Mask, it seems like a few recordings were listened to in this genre around the time, and then the musicians here were inspired enough to decide to take on elements and attempt to play them; puppeteer would be more of an exact word. Just like puppets, you know it isn't the real deal, you can see strings hanging, stitching, and just outright acting coming from the stage. This is similar to Funeral Mask; imitations are in abundance, that genuine atmosphere is missing.

Minute by minute of fidgety, excruciating movements go by, and it was over. And I'm led to the conclusion that these couple of guys decided it would be fitting to 'fit' themselves into a darker and malicious album. Yet, like the student film maker taking the easy route and going with a horror film because the budget's cheap, it's just a bunch of say boo's and scares, and easily impersonated. But what happens when the skinny, weak and scrawny attempt to sit on the toilet seat without a cover, yeah well, they fall in ass first. No one's there to help them back up, and they've fallen into an area that hopefully the last guy flushed. That actually seems more dark, creepy and just out right scary in comparison to the music here. Yet, the only way to rectify yourself, no pun intended, is to not mention it to anyone for the sake of a let's-all-laugh-at-what-happened-in-to-you-in-1997 kind of situation. Except it will be along the lines of, "Man, you actually tried to play that?"

This is a US blackmetal band featuring Dan Lilker from Nuclear Assault. It's my first contact with this band, I haven't heard nothing else but this CD, so let's give you my impressions of this one.

Mid-tempo based blackmetal very raw and simple, comparisons with Darkthrone are unavoidable. The riffs are very good, morbid and even melancholic sometimes, there are very good songs here. Good angry screamed vocals, no effects, just the way I like.

The 'USBM' style is there, I can tell you that. Some other names like Abazagorath and Sarcophagus comes to my ind while I listen to this. I can find here and there some similar sounding riffs.

Just one thing that I hated here: TOO MUCH REVERB in the overall production, except the vocals. The drums almost disappear in a messy sound that sounds like it's coming from a fuckin' cave. No 'punch' at all. Some faster parts you just can't hear the drums!! Only the hit-hat marking the tempo, that's sad, this CD could be a lot better.

The high point: 'The Way of the Wolf'... what a catchy riff!!! This is the kind of sound that you just don't forget easily.

STAY UGLY...