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Rarity of rarities, I got this out of the blue in the mail - and it's really cool! How often does that happen? I wasn't too excited by the cover art, but I ought to know better than to judge an underground release by it's cover. FUNERAL AGE claim a whole slew of old-school Death Metal bands as influences (DEATH, POSSESSED, ENTOMBED, ANGEL CORPSE) and for once a young band delivers on their promises, as this is some very cool Death Metal in the style of the old masters.
The dominant influence here would appear to be MORBID ANGEL or DEATH, but in their balls-out enthusiasm and sometimes chaotic playing FUNERAL AGE most strongly recall the legendary ANGEL CORPSE. (And anyone who knows me knows how I loved that band and that a comparison like that is high praise.) The cool thing is that FUNERAL AGE are not content to simply copy their American elders, but also infuse some Swedish-style melodic riffing and guitar harmonies into the mix. At their best, this band achieves a cool synthesis of American and European Death styles. "Upon The Grave Of Angel's Wing" is the best song here and is a fine example of DISSECTION-style melody combined with Florida-Death brutality.
The only drawback here is the demo-quality production. It isn't that bad, but the music here is good enough to make me wish it was better, you know? The packaging is unimaginative and rather minimal, though the lyrics are included. These are actually very good lyrics too - a bit heavy on the tired old "We hate jesus" theme, but very well-written.
I'm excited about this band, as I can clearly tell that with a decent record deal they could produce some very cool stuff and I'd sure like to see that. This is a rare demo that both finds a spot on my playlist and makes me want to hear more from the band. For underground Death Metal fans, FUNERAL AGE are more than worth checking out. (Online October 23, 2003)
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