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REVIEW – There is no substitute for youth and hunger in life. In music, the debut album (or EP) is the statement that a young band feels like they waited forever to share. Funeral For The Masses have an intensity and fire that comes from passion and determination. “ Pitch Black” is exactly that, this album is dark and to the fucking point. When I think of a metal scene in Finland, I am thinking of a more acid tripping Sabbath inspired scene led by Seremonia. I am not expecting a death core come from the ashes of hell band like Funeral. This orgy of destruction opens with “ Death Sentence”. This song gives you a basic tour as to what this band is all about. This song has an insane groove to it. One that would make Pantera and Lamb of God purists nut their pants over. This song has such an enthusiastic attack to it. This is clearly a band who respect what their singer brings, but occasionally want to break away and showcase what they can bring as well. It is an opening track like this that ensures the listener, that this is not a band who just threw a bunch of songs on a disc. This is a band that put out a well thought out approach to showcase that the Finland scene is real.
If the opening track is what the message of this band is, the next track is surely going to make the message even a louder statement. “ F.F.T.M.” sounds like it was pulled from the gates of hell. It is just a song that will make your ears bleed, but you will not want to turn it off. This is a loud and intense monster that is going to fuck up your day. The vocal delivery alone is worth the price of admission. It sounds like a gurgling of razor blades with whiskey. This is just death metal at its purest form. Just massive drumming to insane guitar riffs and a bass delivery that compliments the vocals. “ Blinded Eyes” is our next track and it is more of the same intensity. This song does throw in some insane breakdowns that will make jaws hit the floor. This is a band that has an attack that can come from any direction but has to be experienced on the loudest platform possible. This cd is at its best, when you are blaring it as loud as humanly possibly. This is the soundtrack to a fucking riot. There is no peace, love or anything that modern radio would grasp towards here. This is shark infested waters that if you try to swim, you are going to get devoured.
The next track is “ Pitch Black”, which the band slows it down a little. This could be seen as the calm before the storm. The band showcases a diversity that they are not all intensity and sheer terror. They are heartfelt (if you dare call it that) and can still create a heaviness even when the tempo has slowed considerably down. This song was very good and I was shocked that they pulled it off. A very brave move. The final two songs are “ Delusions” and “Fallen Idol”. They are both massive hard hitting and diverse encounters. “ Fallen Idol” is that song that is going to get people to notice I feel more than the other songs at first. This song showcases that this is our course right now, but this is where we want the course to go in the future. It was like Meshuggah in the early stages, when the band was pummeling but started throwing in the alternative and math rock elements as well. If Gene Simmons is right and “ Metal and Hard Rock is Dead”. Someone did not send that memo to Finland. Obviously, this band is here to crush, destroy and punish the landscape. Great ep from a band that has such an intensity and hunger to them that you cannot deny they will not be very well known in the upcoming years. This is a band to keep an eye out for. Very promising record that if you are a fan of the scene, you need to wrap your ears in some headphones and blast this fucker.