Release Date: April 07th 2023. Record Label: Ripple Music. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl
Funeral Blues: Tracklisting
1.Suicide Castle
2.Stay in Hell
3.Funeral Blues
4.When Nothing is Left
5.Deathmaker
6.Crippled Shadow
7.Pleasant Death
8.Bed of Bone
Members
Anthony Gaglia: vocals
Ignacio De Tommaso: bass, backing vocals & keyboards
Federico Ramos: guitars & keyboards
Nicolás Taranto: drums
Review
Funeral Blues is the new album from Occult Doom Metallers The Crooked Whispers and sees the band bring a heavier Psychedelic vibe to this album. Moving between classic sounding Proto-Doom atmospherics and modern day FUZZY based grooves. The vocals are full of gloomy despair and vintage Occult based thrills which the band play at the early stages of the album on tracks such as Suicide Castle and Stay In Hell.
There is a sense of danger lurking around the dark corners of this album with the music perhaps being a fine combination of Black Sabbath and Saint Vitus classic sounds with a heavy Electric Wizard and Church Of Misery sense of dread. The music even has a surprising Classic Hard Rock and Heavy Metal feel which allows The Crooked Whispers to play some fantastical guitar solos which air on the right side of classy showmanship even when the band opt for a riff fuelled style of music which is heard more on Stay In Hell.
The album can be considered Stoner Rock/Metal in places but for the most part The Crooked Whispers remain true to their Doom Metal roots. The vocals can be quite harsh in places with Anthony moving between clean vocals and sludgy based growls which gives Funeral Blues an appetising “DOES THIS DOOM” quality.
There’s also a DOWN-TUNED or AMPLIFIER RIFF WORSHIP quality to this album that has first rate vintage sounding production values that truly comes alive on tracks such as Funeral Blues, When Nothing Is Left and Deathmaker.
You’ll be surprised at how many great riffs and guitar solos are on this album. The rhythm section is another highlight with a pulsating bass and intense drums only adding to the overall gloominess of the whole album.
The second half of the album delves even further into the Classic Hard Rock realms but with a heavier DOOM Metal element allowing the band to be more forceful and creative with their music which shines through on tracks such as: Deathmaker, Crippled Shadow and Bed Of Bones.
The Crooked Whispers have teamed up with Ripple Music on this album and it’s great to see the band have upped their game for this album. As Funeral Blues is packed with some of the best and heaviest grooves that the band have released to date. The album has a winning mix of different styles with fabulous production values allowing The Crooked Whispers to release an album that offers first rate “DEVILISH” entertainment from start to finish.
Words by Steve Howe.
You can listen to the whole album in full with the album below.
Thanks to the cool folks over at Purple Sage PR for the premiere and promo.
Funeral Blues is available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via Ripple Music (USA) and Ripple Music (EU) from April 07th 2023
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