Album Review: Funeral Leech - The Illusion Of Time
Reviewed by Sam Jones
Now here’s a record I didn’t know was on the horizon. Formed in 2015, hailing out of New York, United States, Funeral Leech are a death/doom band who released their first Demo in 2017, and their first Single a year later. But, by 2020 and signed on to Carbonized Records, the band were ready to release their first full length album by the title of Death Meditation; it was a record I became fond of, regularly playing it throughout the pandemic lockdowns. So, four years later, upon seeing the band have a new album primed for release, I decided i’d take a look at The Illusion Of Time, signed once again to the same label, to see what the band have brought for us this time. Let’s unveil this album before it officially launches come April 5th.
I like how Funeral Leech harbour zero hints of hesitation regarding subjecting their audience to lengthy tracks. The opening piece, “…And The Sky Wept” is nearly ten minutes long and, if we peruse the record as a whole, we learn it’s nearly a full quarter of the entire album. Therefore, the band will naturally want to immerse their audience within an atmosphere they can ideally get lost in. However, I can say the atmosphere isn’t as dense or crushing as other death/doom acts have done beforehand; if my recollection of Funeral Leech’s last record is accurate, the band are very comfortable in crafting a soundscape that, whilst oozing all the doom elements dans would want to hear, still leans heavily toward a death metal attack. Granted, their tempo never rises too high for the doom’s impact to waver but Funeral Leech’s songwriting is the kind that happily walks alongside their audience, instead of crawling far behind. As a result, the band do play pretty long songs but though we may spend a while on each one, our attention doesn’t feel forced nor are we secretly hoping for the next piece to start. Their pacing is great and the inclusion of slower segments ensure there’s enough to warrant our engagement, start to finish, throughout these lengthy tracks.
As a consequence of this record being less cavernous and suffocating than most death/doom records, the vocals are a more discernible aspect of the band’s performance. In fact, for a death/doom album, it’s striking just how present the vocals are here. Most records would cherry-pick where their vocals are placed and then let the instrumentation do the rest, but Funeral Leech opt for a vocal presence that’s prominent throughout the vast majority of their record. Even if you don’t fully realise it the first time through, repeated listens will show just how often the vocals creep through the riffs and drums. During the band’s quieter moments, the vocals can even be understood somewhat. So, it’s not just some guttural, senseless deliver that’s on display but an actual performance that doesn’t mind being deciphered from time to time; the bulk of the vocal performance is still to infer an archaic sensibility of unknowing, but the vocals possess a little more ground in the band’s performance, constantly reasserting its role within the songwriting.
The structure for the record is interesting. It could just be a coincidence of track selection, and where each one ended up being placed, but if you view the track running you’ll see the opening piece is nine minutes, and the next three succeeding that are a little shorter each time. Then you’ve got the concluding eleven minute track that is “The Tower”. It’s as if the band prepare you for that final track the moment the record begins, giving you a healthy dose of what to expect and receive from the album as a whole and seeing whether you’re in it for the long haul. As each following track shortens a touch, it manages to ease the pressure your senses are subjected to even when the band’s intensity hardly wavers. If every track were just as intense and equally as long, it could feel blocky and needlessly grating upon us; therefore, by the time we’ve reached the end, we feel far from relieved the end is come but glad to behold the final opus The Illusion Of Time blesses us with. Throw in the differing tempos sporadically interwoven throughout their various tracks and their structure, accidental or no, really works to the band’s favour.
Though death/doom is often stylised by its riffs, tone and Mariana Trench-depth vocals, it must be noted how strongly the drums make themselves known. Considering the band aren’t vying for a super thick and dense atmosphere, it gives additional breathing room not merely for ourselves but the band also. Since the drums aren’t at risk of ending up diminished or smothered by other forces within the mix, they’re far more fervent in projecting their power than other drum tracks found in death/doom. The actual performance isn’t anything I haven’t heard countless times prior, yet it’s the strength imparted that puts these drum tracks above the rank and file. The drums crash and bounce and rebound to and fro, ofttimes rising above the guitar work in places. What’s more, much like the vocals, they’re always working and moving to provide something for us to latch on to. Across the band, they’ve shared each of their aspects equally to ensure everyone has their moment to shine. Cymbals crash with juicy clarity and Tom-toms are struck with a taut resonance, and bass drums feel menacing with how tightly they’ve been rendered in the mix.
In conclusion, Funeral Leech’s sophomore studio album is a great ride with plenty to experience and enjoy. I feel like they’ve certainly honed and improved their songwriting from their last record and are continuing to gift us additional things to further their death/doom aesthetic, such as the minute inclusion of keyboards and audio samples here and there. For those seeking something that isn’t soul destroying, and offers greater levity to their listening, The Illusion Of Time is a genuine option. A potential gateway record to the more punishing variations of death/doom, Funeral Leech are doing well in purporting this more death metal leaning style of songwriting and are making lengthy tracks feel the norm when they’re the ones playing them. I’m curious to see where they go next as Funeral Leech are always a good time to be had.
