FUNERAL WINDS “Sinister Creed” CD

Review: The Netherlands had moon-cursing, ice cold black metal in the form of Funeral Winds years before Norway had Darkthrone and the band existed almost concurrently with Finland’s Beherit. If not for a few snafus on their mid-90’s timeline due to untimely record label bankruptcy and their steadfast orthodoxy the band might be a name better known outside of elitist underground black metal wizard circles. ‘Godslayer XUL’ remains a classic that was unfairly 3 years late to the party. Funeral Wind’s sound had reached a peak of thrashing occult black metal that unfortunately represented 1995 more than it’s unintended release date of 1998. Fans of their earliest devotion to chaos and the true spirit of black metal will be largely pleased by ‘Sinister Creed’. The band’s fourth full-length comes after a decade-long hiatus since 2007’s ‘Nexion Xul – The Cursed Bloodline’, an album that made up for the trashcan production of ‘Koude Haat’ by a mile as it recreated the sound of ‘Godslayer Xul’ perfectly.

‘Sinister Creed’ dials back the drum sound here, opting for atmospherics rather than the canned ham sound of the late 00’s. Funeral Winds is an old school metal band at heart and an undying ‘second wave’ black metal band at that, so their blood covered Sumerian demon worshiping orthodoxy will likely sound fairly rote, if not energetic, to the casual listener. Their fourth album has all of the speed and furious thrashing elements that are signature for the band, but the double bass drumming adds dimension and intensity well beyond the more likely Darkthrone and Impaled Nazarene comparisons. I feel that the music on ‘Sinister Creed’ has so deeply inherited it’s principles that Funeral Winds vision is unshakably stuck in the second wave of black metal. It isn’t a negative but it also represents a fourth take on a style that doesn’t outdo it’s predecessors.

If you love bands like Katharsis and that first Bestial Summoning record you’ll find a lot to like here with thier particularly brutal black metal sound. The relentless slithering horror of Funeral Winds lives on in good form and in ‘sticking to their guns’ the band creates a valuable chaotic old school black metal record. The triggered drumming is somewhat problematic on the more speed intensive moments but they really only start to wobble and fart on the final track. I’d primarily recommend this to more dedicated fans of raw and old school black metal, but by all means click on their bandcamp and listen to their entire discography.