The Funeral "Ruled by None" CD
[Endwell]
On this full-length (I guess?) The Funeral kicks out 12 short tracks of heavy hardcore with vicious vocal screams, blending old school hardcore with a more traditional metalcore sort of sound (read: It's heavy, and there's a dose of metal in there, but it's neither crazy go nuts bullshit nor melodic Swedish metal junk). There's a good shot of dissonance at times, as well as small dashes of melody, but for the most part it's a mix of straightforward chord progressions or chugging breaks - though somehow it's definitely more creative than average. Some of these guys used to be in Darker Day Tomorrow and Spark Lights the Friction, but this is way fucking better. I have to say though that this material is sorely hindered by the production. For one thing the drums are too punchy and jump way out in front of most everything else on many occasions. Aside from that the guitar tone is sort of dirty and not as thick as it needs to be, so it falls a bit flat, and the bass just isn't loud enough. The vocals sound fine, there's just a huge gap in the mix because the bass isn't dominant enough and the guitars lack density, so nothing keeps the drums in check. The drums and the vocals tend to run the show because they're distracting due to the mix and the chosen guitar tone. The layout's simple but effective, using few colors and sparse imagery. There are a lot of dirty background textures and one tiny photo of the singer. Then the cover has small illustrations of a UPC code, a straight razor, and a handgun... but other than that it's text. Everything that's not black and white is sort of a pale brown tint. The lyrics deal with both the personal and political, often blending the two, and I enjoy them quite a bit. "Trapped in a gang mentality. Caught up in what we think we're supposed to be. And all the while you're not really free. Because 'tyranny is tyranny, let it come from whom it may'. We clothe rascals in robes and honesty in rags. Award the devious with badges of honor, the meek in chains and bodybags. So when the droves rise it will be an eye for an eye until their toll shall extol the limit of the sky..." My ears do start to adjust to the recording after several songs, but it still harms the overall impact. It's damn clear that this band is pretty fucking good and has a bright future ahead of them, but I'll have to keep my fingers crossed that they harness their sound just a little bit more the next time out, because they could really demolish. (6/10)
Running time - 22:27, Tracks: 12
[Notable tracks: Alive and Well, The End of Everything, Therapy, Razor Finger]
Endwell Records - http://www.endwelletc.com

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