God's Funeral - El Despertar Dels Mort

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God’s Funeral is a doom/death metal band from Spain who formed in 2016.  After a string of demos, EPs, and splits, the band is dropping their monumental full-length debut album, “El Despertar Dels Morts.”

This album has a classic death/doom feel to it.  Crushing riffs, deep death growls, and a rhythm section that’s so dense it could hold back the strongest of storms.  It’s also loaded with a Gothic atmosphere and a keen sense of melody–subtle but so important to the progression of the songs.  


Amongst the very heavy songs, keyboards and violin thrive as well like flowers growing in a graveyard.  Their inclusion isn’t overused but helps with the pacing at just the right times. Speaking of pacing:  this album is SLOW.  A lot of death/doom bands lean into the death metal side with sudden tempo changes or a couple songs with a big groove.  God’s Funeral isn’t one of those bands and “El Despertar Dels Morts,” isn’t one of those albums.  But if you’re a true  doom metal fan and crave that slow nature then it isn't going to be a problem.  If it is a problem, then go find another genre.  This is DOOM. 


With that being said, the album isn’t overly long; it is five songs across just over 48 minutes in length.  Since it is ‘only’ five songs, I will say a little about each one.


“Ara Que Torna El Silenci,” sets the stage right:  brief clean tones and then the effects of growls, stark riffs, and a cold melodic tinge.  I love the cymbal work around the 3:40 mark, paired with the clawing growls and wonderful violin.  The middle part of the song descends deeper into the dark, so much that even when the clean tones are all that are present, the song’s bleakness doesn’t change. 


“Itaca,” begins with a classic sounding doom riff: heavy yet atmospheric with Gothic overtones.  The bass is particularly void-like:  I thought my headphones were going to shake off my head during that first minute.   The middle part of the song sounds so tragic, complete with a classic Gothic death/doom feel that will make fans of the 90’s scene extremely happy.  Near the end of the song, liminal spaces between the riffs speak volumes—-the rest of the song seems bottomless! 


“La processó de les ombres,” begins with tight, military style drumming and a lead harmony to accompany it. The riffs and violin in this song are almost ethereal, in the way they just sort of wash over the song and very much the focus.  Out of all the songs, this one seems more immediate and the death growls certainly help with that.


The title track is huge.  It begins immediately with a monstrous growl as the music engages in Gothic tendencies. Just past the half way mark, the song enters a passage of clean tones that sounds just as immense as the heavier parts.  It’s almost serene in an odd way yet it’s foreboding of the intensity that arrives soon after. 


The final song is “Fossa Comuna,” and it’s one of my favorites on the album.  The growls are really strong, as is the drumming which carries the song ever forward.  Some of the album’s best riffs are in this one, especially after the halfway mark where the band jams it out, doom style.  


All in all, God’s Funeral and their debut “El Despertar Dels Morts,” is a strong doom metal album that has a classic feel to it and hits all the check marks for what I look for in doom. What it lacks in variety it makes up in knowing exatly what it is and what it wants to accomplish.


Rating: Great














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