Achieving nihilistic actualization beneath the uncaring siphon of eternity New York-based death/doom metal quartet FUNERAL LEECH return for a sophomore full-length album which devotes its entirety to the revelation of existential erosion, bitterly acknowledging impermanence through morbid death music. After a near decade together these folks have done well to hone their void-craft managing a thoughtful, practiced presence capable of slow-swung dynamism at every turn while grinding along the path of classics-mindful death/doom metal. ‘The Illusion of Time‘ speaks to an ideation many years in the making, a knack for both sides of the sub-genre coin additionally compounded by the trials and tragedies which serve to inspire its themes.

Funeral Leech formed circa 2015 compelled into motion by former/current members of grindcore and sludge metal adjacent groups. Their focus has been entirely consistent thus far in terms of rooting in classic old school death-doom metal and the chunkier riffcraft of the 2010’s built ‘new old school’ death metal sound still abounding today. I’d highly rated their debut full-length album (‘Death Meditation‘, 2020) upon review, describing their style as something like mid-90’s Bolt Thrower and a bit of Runemagick (alternately: Hooded Menace) with a mean-assed stomp to their key rhythms. Naturally a death metal album so structurally girded by actual doom metal riffs with one foot in the past and another in the present received a high recommendation from me, leading to a purchase of the vinyl and ultimately its spot on my Top 100 Album list of that year. While the context of that first LP isn’t a hundred percent necessary it has held up well and should likewise provide a clear pathway through today. The most relevant quote to take from that review was “There are yet many effective subtleties to expand upon here, such as the swell of the bassline as they pull out of the last minute of “Lament” or the grinding Desecresy-esque riffing that highlights album closer “I Am The Cosmos”. These are ideas that could become bolder points of personality further down Funeral Leech‘s career but for now they act as extra value for the repeatability of the listening experience” and this album ends up more-or-less embodying that suggested direction. ‘The Illusion of Time‘ naturally picks up the conversation beyond said debut, carrying on with a somewhat different but related thematic tangent without losing track of the impressive style the band’d lead with.

We could justifiably accuse Funeral Leech of having gained crucial insight in the years since their debut and specifically per their chosen sub-genre’s broader reach wherein some melodic fortitude and a depressive attunement go a long way toward providing the edge needed for their work to begin sticking in mind. In this sense if you appreciated the changes Innumerable Forms (or, Temple of Void) made on their second full-length album the outcome is similar here as they’ve taken on more shades of doom, gained additional complexity of forms, and built an atmospheric register able to serve both the volatile and the cathartic sides of their work. Distraught, despairing almost funeral death/doom-esque movements (see: “The Tower”, “Penance”) are threaded throughout the full listen to best showcase what is a leap and what is an addendum to past capabilities. Otherwise their stalk-paced ride remains rooted in menacing-yet-introspective death metal with hints of melodic death/doom metal’s maudlin austerity cropping up here and there throughout the full listen.

Opener “…And the Sky Wept” is probably the most key piece on the first half of this album for the sake of it being immediately directional with its main riff, doing well to recall the elaborately constructed yet simply achieved ~8-9 minute death/doom metal songs these folks had been capable of from the start. That opener becomes an important first bookend as we start Side A and begin to anticipate the equally involved span of the album closer; While I’d make the argument that “Penance” is the song to give the listener a taste of every branch on the Funeral Leech tree I’d concede that “Ceaseless Wheel of Becoming” is well-chosen as the leading face of ‘The Illusion of Time‘ where we can feel the tension of 90’s British doom (as in: Warning, Paradise Lost) in its movement but also the filth-ridden cavern-crawling death metal of the early 90’s Finnish death metal in certain riffs. The empyrean keys which light up within the last third of the song are something new and soon become an incendiary feature as we press on through each of the longform pieces on this album. The addition of synth and these darker waves of doom only intensify in succession as each of the five pieces reveals more in passage, leaving substantial residue equal to that of their previous work. The main point to make is that they’ve balanced patient and properly knotted-up death metal action with droning, funereal doom and this makes for an engaging but no less adrift personae from Funeral Leech.

The longest piece on the album, 11+ minute closer “The Tower”, features Dystopia drummer/vocalist Dino Sommese for a guest vocal spot and this song acts as the decisive anchor for the full listen, side-stepping the necessity of a grand finale for the sake of parity with the opening song (“…And the Sky Wept”) as an energizing conduit, the final piece that makes the experience whole. These folks serve an utmost gloom-stricken arrangement as they pour the atmosphere thick and cut a molten trench within the fog generated, building up toward the song’s mid-point. From that point of levitating spirit a few more hits on the keys and an ominous riff or three produces a glowing high wherein intended effect of the music should be easily read and digested. It serves an elevation which feels far beyond their debut, logical in its course yet a substantial gain met in terms of atmosphere (mix/master via Resonance Sound Studio) and further developed idiosyncrasy; For all of the heady extreme atmospheric doom that creeps into ear on this record the more ‘straightforward’ aspects of a song like “Chronofixion” serve no less excellence, in fact they will ultimately reveal as a condensed vision in line with the rest of the album, but may not stand out as sharply as those bigger narrative-shaping pieces nearby.

As was the case with their debut Funeral Leech have done a fine job of curating the packaging of their output with more exceptional work from Karmazid per his illustrations, cover artwork and typography all of which serve to deepen the aesthetic characterization of the band alongside what looks to be a revised logo. The use of contrasting but muted coloration does well to make the busied motion of the image readable at a distance and the imagery lines up with the theme in a very direct way, characterizing the experience from the first glance. All of the boxes are checked herein for a quality-bound, thoughtful death/doom metal experience though I would add the one caveat that ‘The Illusion of Time‘ doesn’t take drastic, over the top steps to stand out in the field. As such their choice to retain their tasteful vision might not -beg- for immediate attention amidst the release schedule surrounding but time invested won’t be met with average results in any case. The listener willing to invest patient fixation upon the available nuance will ultimately access the high-brained yet approachable reward of worthy time spent per this record, especially if their attunement to doom metal is particularly learned. A high recommendation.

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