Monday, August 7, 2017

EP Review: PERVERSE FUNERAL HOME They Won't Stay Dead

PERVERSE FUNERAL HOME
Just when you think modern horror couldn't get any more perverse and insalubrious a group like the aptly titled Perverse Funeral Home comes along to deny that belief. 'They Won't Stay Dead' is an incredibly short affair with the longest track being an intro that isn't representative of the group as a whole due to the fact that the other four songs are entirely different. They're a very nutty group, at first listen, - almost a bit disconcertingly unconventional as they've concocted this quite absurd horror concept to accompany the music. Although it may sound strange the most interesting factor of the album for me was the "intro" song titled 'The Funeral is About to Begin', a very mood-setting song that bases itself around a series of repeated notes. Although purely ambient in nature it's a very interesting piece as it starts off relatively small and expands into something much larger in which there's a lot of varied instrumentation while the song builds itself up with the grandiloquence of an orchestra as you can actually hear the new additions that emerge at each interval. Church organs, synth strings and marimba-esque instrumentation are the prime components of this grisly ordeal. One begins to wonder seeing as the remaining tracks are shorter if in fact this is all the group have in their proverbial bag of tricks. But alas one quickly realises it is indeed a game of two halves when the self-titled track appertaining to the name of the group comes on and you hear the inevitable arrival of the blast-beats which permeate the remainder of the record. One small criticism I have to make about the group as far as their death-metal quality is concerned is that all of the retrospective instruments stick out like a sore thumb, almost as if there's too much distinction between what is going on which at times has a tendency to make it sound like separate pieces altogether. The drums are fantastically quanitized although there's a sort of mechanical aspect to them which were gained perhaps during the pursuit of perfection, leaving one unsure of whether they're programmed or not. What I like about the group though is that they've an identity and they're not bound to doing one thing all the time and I think the addition of samples adds something quite tasteful to the conceptually-driven nature of the band. I think it'd be nice to hear the ambient side of the group coalesce with the extreme side of the group in upcoming releases, though, seeing as a lot of existing extreme groups have this tendency to rely on atmospheric music which serves merely as an introduction before bursting into electric frenzy. I think however we're reached a time in the music world in which groups can start experimenting with the two simultaneously without any degree of shame. Overall it's a promising and interesting release for the group and it's a guilty confession to admit that I really find the whole identity of the group quite intoxicating. (And disturbing.) -Jaime Regadas

Track list:
1. The Funeral Is About to Begin
2. Perverted Funeral Home
3. Terror From Beyond
4. Masturbating In Her Spleen
5. Zilf

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