Funeral Sanctum
The melodies on Funeral Sanctum matter almost as much as the heavy riffs. Witch Vomit stick with deep growls, rattling drums and the rough sound of old-school death metal, but give the guitars more room to follow their own lines. The result is sharper and easier to follow without losing its hostile character.
After the short introduction Dying Embers, Endless Fall immediately turns up the pressure. Its riffs keep moving, and the song finishes before the attack loses force. Blood of Abomination adds fierce leads and a thrashy pace. Those guitar lines make the difference between this and purely blunt death metal: they give the fast sections direction while the low vocals keep threatening from underneath.
Serpentine Shadows takes more time. Heavier, slower riffs give its melodies a different kind of tension. That change of pace helps an album which could otherwise become one continuous charge. The production keeps the sound dirty and weighty, but allows enough detail through to follow how the guitars work together.
The introduction and the later interlude Abject Silence are less essential than the full songs. Their pauses do not cause much disruption, but on an already compact record the time feels better spent on the heavier material. Not every riff immediately develops into a memorable hook, either.
The closing title track brings the strengths together: a heavy foundation, bursts of speed and a solo that holds the attention. Funeral Sanctum does not demand a long sitting, and its best moments come when melody and brute force move together. For death metal listeners who want their guitars to do more than simply batter away, it is a convincing record.
