By:
Ernesto Aguilar
Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 25/08/2017
Label: Independent
Close
your eyes and you can hear hints of Mountain and Blue Oyster Cult throughout "Awakening."
The rolling title track is a true showcase for how these inspirations have
shaped the Texas band. Such attention to the details most people probably never
notice further ensures a level of quality that may surprise you. Not only is
the music masterfully played, but nothing overpowers the composition
“Awakening” CD//DD track listing:
1.
Shadow of the Snake
2.
Awakening
3.
Illusions of Reality
4.
Firedrake
5.
Casimir
6.
The Gathering Dust
The Review:
Progressive
metal is arguably one of heavy music’s most gutsy disciplines. In this subgenre,
you have a crop of originators as well as emerging acts devoted to creating an
atmosphere as they are to writing compelling lyrics. Consider the performers
included in the progressive metal tent and you’re guaranteed to stir up
conversation among people. From Meshuggah to Kings X, the acts are memorable. Subsequent crews thus have
some big expectations to live up to.
What
makes Blues Funeral of Houston, Texas an important
and challenging addition to progressive metal is the fact that “Awakening” is the combo’s follow-up to
its 2016 debut, "The Search."
Sophomore releases can be incredibly rocky experiences. That’s because, chances
are, one of your favorite musicians probably had its own problematic second
release.
Fortunately
for Blues Funeral and fans, the team’s new
release "Awakening" is not
that package.
If
you heard "The Search" –
and kudos to the guys for regularly delivering new music – you may recall one
of its most distinguished facets was Blues Funeral’s
magnetism. A discerning music aficionado can almost pinpoint to the note where
there’s tension in a group. If Blues Funeral members
have that, they hide it well, as their music together is just outstanding. Listeners
may have gotten a sense of that unity in its initial offering, but the latest
confirms this accord. As a result, Blues Funeral serves up
a seamless return.
The
song construction on cuts like opener "Shadow
of the Snake" play exquisitely to the strengths of guitar and rhythm
sections. Close your eyes and you can hear hints of Mountain
and Blue Oyster Cult throughout "Awakening." The rolling title track
is a true showcase for how these inspirations have shaped the Texas band. Such
attention to the details most people probably never notice further ensures a
level of quality that may surprise you. Not only is the music masterfully
played, but nothing overpowers the composition. You notice issues like this
when a guitar is overplayed or the vocals wash out other crucial ingredients.
Insofar as overall production, Blues Funeral feels
faithful to the listening experience first. Such makes "Awakening" a real pleasure to hear.
At
various points of the full-length, bassist Gabriel
Katz deserves a nod for anchoring the festivities. Katz’s lines are pronounced without being overwhelming. A true
prog-metal believer has to further give it up for drummer Cory Cousins, whose contributions are technical without being
mechanical. His drumming draws out some of the best elements throughout, such
as on "Illusions of Reality."
In
no other metal style is the range of a singer as important as it is in
progressive metal. Beyond the note she or he can hit, moreover, a performance
is as much about the emotion a vocalist can stir up for an audience, as well as
the picture a song can paint. Jan Kimmel
and Maurice Eggenschwiler represent Blues Funeral marvelously. They together and separately strike
the right mood on songs like "Casimir."
"Feeling so heavy/With demons on his
shoulders/Yet so enlightened and/Never getting older" gets the intonation
such realizations deserve. The duo handle much of the quartet’s songwriting, so
such vocal presence is understandable. Twinned with their exceptional guitar
work, Kimmel and Eggenschwiler deliver something special
to this second recording for the band.
"Awakening" will
be available here from the 25/08/2017 and you can check out an
exclusive stream of the track “The
Gathering Dust” below
