CoC : Hallowed Butchery - Funeral Rites for the Living : Review

Hallowed Butchery - _Funeral Rites for the Living_
(Vendetta Records, 2009)
by: Quentin Kalis (4 out of 10)

Try as I might, I could not fathom what sole member Ryan Fairfield intended for this project. I'm tempted to say funeral doom, due to the preponderance of plodding, if muddy riffs, but moments of unmitigated Dimmu Borgir bombast or atypical acoustic passage suggest a less clear-cut answer. Certainly no doom band I have heard as ever attempted to cover Neil Young, and the dramatic moments would be better located within a symphonic black context. It's far from improbable that these disparate styles could be fused, but the shifts between heavy and light dynamics is forced and awkward. As with many others starting out in metal, he clearly desires to present something that is at the least innovative if not wholly original but problems in execution or conception impede his vision with resulting less than stellar outcome.

Contact: http://www.hallowedbutchery.com

(article published 24/10/2009)