MODERN FUNERAL ART - FRANCE

MODERN FUNERAL ART - DOOM WITH A VIEW - APOLLON
Listening several times to the demo one can’t but help think of goth and alternative underground time and time again. As per the name, the French band is indeed rooted in doom, but there is a whole element of goth and rock embedded in song after song of this full-length. The music, unfortunately, is destroyed by the vocals. While average, the music has notable moments, heavy moments, interesting moments where the 'doom' tag is justified, but the horrid vocals take away all credibility from the disc. One can label the vocals an 'acquired taste,' and indeed, it somehow becomes easier to digest by repeat listen number four, yet Doom With A View (very funny) is lacking any quality control in the singing department. The singer would ostensibly survive in the whole Bauhaus/Sisters Of Mercy world, but some semblance of power/tune/range is a minimum requirement in heavy metal. The best thing about this demo is the valiant attempt at taking HP Lovecraft, Aleister Crowley and other juicy bits of history in order to create interesting song titles and lyrics. Add to that the banishment of the synthesizers to a mere whiff and there are one and a half positives. The band is at the very underground, metal, independent, individualistic www.myspace.com/modernfuneralart website or can be contacted at arnaud@electrichock.fr. - Ali “The Metallian”