Release Date: July 11th 2025. Record Label: Remorseless Records. Formats: CD/DD
Rumour Of A Funeral - Tracklisting
1.Rumour of a Funeral
2.Djinn
3.Somewhere
4.Rivers of Blood
Members
Tony - Vocals/Guitars
Nikos - Guitars
Chris - Bass/Vocals
John - Drums/Vocals
Review
Rumour Of A Funeral is the third album from Doom/Sludge Metallers Mosara with the band being quite productive over the last four years since they’ve released their debut self-titled album. You know how this type of album works with Mosara playing a classic style of slow pounding Doom and Sludge Metal with Prog Metal tendencies shining through. With sounds inspired by the likes of Electric Wizard, Neurosis, Kowloon Walled City and Monolord with the band projecting a nightmarish level of down-tuned attitude with a sullen Psychedelic atmosphere being quite dark and vicious when the time calls for this.
Opening song Rumour Of A Funeral is a dirge ridden Sludge Metal experience with the music is played at a creepy slow-to-mid pace which sees an eerie SUNN-0))) inspired Drone Metal aspect appearing with the band paying homage within the band logon. The vocals from Tony, Chris and John appear at different intervals with them ranging from clean vocals, harsh growls, demonic chants and even shamanic chants. Mosara conjures up devil-sh gloomy Progressive rhythms and noise based rhythms which drift almost into Industrial/Noise Rock surroundings. However, Mosara keeps within the ranks of modern day and haunting Doom/Sludge Metal which has echoes of Doomgaze starting to creep into the mix.
Second song Djinn continues with the epic and cinematic landscape with a mammoth runtime of fourteen mins with Mosara taking their time blending different rhythms and sludgy textures. The song flirts between a serious level of Post-Rock and Post-Doom sounds. It does take for the song to fully get going and find its rhythm but that’s Mosara conjuring up the ingredients for a non-stop blast of thrilling Doom/Sludge Metal sound throughout the track. The Post-Industrial beats allow the vocals to become more depressing and quite affirmative at the same time. There is a menacing EYEHATEGOD creative influence starting to emerge within the lyrics with this album most definitely not being for the faint hearted.
The whole record is full of brutal Post-Metal atmospherics. With an increasing reliance on Droned Out Sonic experimentation which makes long drawn out notes being stretched out into the next millennium which is one of my favourite aspects of the whole album. The second track Djinn allows Mosara to experiment and play a crazed riff-centric style of music which becomes part of the action for the remaining two tracks on the album. Though, you’ll still experience nightmarish vocal harmonies and distorted instrumental passages before this great album is finally finished.
The final two tracks of Somewhere and Rivers of Blood allows Mosara to expand their nihilistic and down-tuned Sludge Metal sound with the gloomy Post-Doom passages being quite distorted along the way. Frenzied vocals and intense instrumental sounds never get in the way of Mosara telling an intriguing concept with lyrics and the overall creative journey that Rumour Of A Funeral takes the listener upon.
There are echoes of screeching guitars that made my hearing give up in anger at times but that’s perhaps my advancing years and not down to the album itself. Though, that should only add to Mosara’s credibility of playing THICK, HEAVY, and BRUTAL music from start to finish. Rumour Of A Funeral brings a refreshing slow-paced take on the modern day Doom/Sludge Metal sound with moments of AUDIO based violence that will pummel you into submission in this lifetime and beyond.
Excellent and Highly Recommended.
Words by Steve Howe
Links
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