Brethren of Sadness - Eulogy Beneath Eternal Shadows

Brethren of Sadness is a funeral doom band, from the ever-prolific John Suffering.  As he did with An Tormah, musician Anthony Copertino Jr. joins him.  “Eulogy Beneath Eternal Shadows,” is their debut full-length album.

This is a low, slow funeral doom album that crawls by at a glacial pacing.  I like the pacing/speed because the band has more than enough time to let these songs unfurl in a natural way.  Simply put, there isn’t a second wasted across the album's 5 song, 39-minute runtime.  

Suffering’s vocals are extremely low—almost like he has a mouth full of gravel while he growls.  They aren’t just low but also abrasive, like the low hanging claws of some monstrous form scraping across the floor as it stalks its prey.  He also belts out some goddamn harrowing blackened wails at times too.

Musically, it is riff based with a Gothic atmosphere, especially where the melodic guitar leads are concerned.  It’s an interesting pair, as the songs are as bleak as any funeral doom I’ve heard yet they don’t shy away with melodies that are sometimes reserved for more Gothic focused bands like My Dying Bride or Draconian. 

The first song is the title track, and it begins with apocalyptic atmospheric textures before the drums kick off a very mean sounding riff.  The riffs prolong their notes just long enough to be effective before dropping the hammer to the next one.  The solos overlap on top, like a mournful river of death flooding a once vibrant valley.    Around the 4:30 mark, the song goes quiet aside from the thumping bass and clean instrumentation.  This moment of clarity is actually arresting, offering little respite from the heaviness it is sandwiched between.  I like how the band can move in and out of these varying degrees while staying cohesive. 

“Echoes of the Departed,” sinks in like wreckage to the ocean’s bottom.  The riffs are anchored by the weight melodic leads, both of them pulled down to the abyss by the bass. With that being said, it’s almost beautiful in a mournful, funeral type of way.  After the halfway mark, the keys highlight the darkness, and the song gets really dark. The mixture of clean tones and suffocating riffs works wonders for the atmosphere.

“Desolate Abyss,” rings out with the bell tolls.  This might be the heaviest of the five songs, which is saying a lot.  I don’t hear much light in this song; this is all shades of black as the curtain falls on a forgotten day. The drums are super powerful on this song, heavy, sudden lurches in the night of a deadly force making its presence known.  The leads create a sort of buzzing effect, nearly maddening.

“Crushed by Shadows,” is theatrical in the beginning with the keys falling over the guitars.  This is, at least to me, the most Gothic oriented song on the album because of the excellently played lead guitar, which is almost like a song in of itself.  The entire 7 minutes is layered perfectly, and the mix allows my ears to follow each individual instrument as they pull together for the end.

The final song is “Eternal Lament,” and it is my favorite of the five. From the towering keys to the bottomless and deathly vocals, this song hits all the sweet spots of the genre and represents what the album is all about.  It is deceptively simple, each piece essential listening yet just as important to the greater whole.  The final half is woefully melodic all the way to the end and is my favorite passage on the entire album.

All in all, Brethren of Sadness’ “Eulogy Beneath Eternal Shadows,” is yet another stellar addition to the ever-growing discography of Mr. Suffering.  Fans of funeral doom will definitely want to take the plunge into this everlasting darkness. 

Rating: Excellent