What does it take to come up with a devastating and crushing yet intricate and beautiful extreme Funeral Doom record? A lot of things and yet not too many – need a good example? Listen to Amarok‘s second full-length Resilience! It might serve like a great tutorial in minor keys, sad moods and cathartic soundscapes!
First of all, of course it needs a lot of melodies, because simply trying to connect spins and descends upon descends and spins will not provide anything even remotely atmospheric and of course that is what a great Funeral Doom record needs – atmosphere. Resilience has that galore! Take the third track ”Penance (XII)” for example – the Chico, California-based quartet uses many elements from other genres, for example it flirts with some white noise at the end before it fades into a short, somber outro. On the previous 14 minutes one can find many diverse elements necessary for Funeral Doom: the slowly spiraling guitar lines, the deep, deep growls from beneath Dante’s descent into hell, and some minor variations on the tempi scales. Nevertheless, do not mistake the slowness of the track as a lack of melody, because there are several lines running counter and balance all across the track; a quality that could best be located on the first two Baroness records, but of course at a much faster pace.
Another necessity to be considered would be a love for detail and for diversity. As mentioned above, a rather stoic Funeral Doom-only approach is difficult to keep fresh and interesting, thus infusions from elsewhere are important even though the classic genre-soundscape can be kept intact, somewhere between heavenly Prog and muscular Classic Rock foundations. Listen to ”Ascension (XI)” and you will quickly (within the 18 minutes kind of quick) come across parts rooted in some kind of droney wall of Noise. Talking about classic – there are even some cello sounds on this track, so one can see that the attention to detail is big in these fellows.
Not really necessary might be great guests or collaborators but Resilience has those as well: ALN from Mizmor provides some vocals on ”Ascension”, Neurosis’ Dave Ed can be heard on the opener ”Charred (X)” and the record was mastered by none other than James Plotkin (whom we already had here on Veil of Sound with this interview). These three show the credibility of the band within our little scene, because the guys are good friends with ALN and to get Dave needs some legitimacy within the scene.
Some people might argue that a certain intention and idea is the most important for a good record of any genre. Easy. Here just listen to ”Charred” and be aware that this track is an audio eulogy. Some years ago, the deadliest bush fire raged through Chico and resulted in the death of more than 80 people and accounting for, at one point, nearly 500 people missing. Amarok lost many friends and relatives in that fire, thus the name of the track. The sheer devastation of the track is audible more or less from the start, the near 18 minutes are changing between Black Metal and harsh Sludge parts, one can find blastbeat attacks as well as a somewhat soothing but nevertheless spooky clean guitar passage in the middle. The ominous background noise might be regarded as the winds sweeping across the burnt up parts of Butte County, the steam rising the charcoal ground vanishing into the air just like the deceased. After the story comes the intention and when looking at the record title, Resilience it might be clear: Do not give up, do not let these crushing events define you for the rest of your life, for that is exactly what the victims would not want you to do. Let their deaths not define your path to your own grave one day. Be strong – there is a time for mourning and there is a need for resilience.
We all leave behind a certain legacy and the band does that in the sense that the final track on the record bears that name and in some way it encompasses everything the three tracks (and one interlude in the middle) have given us before: melody, diversity and intention. However, I do hope that this track will not be Amarok’s final one, even if ”Legacy (XIII)” would be a fitting final track. Hoping for more and thankful for such a great example of a good Funeral Doom record I can only suggest to check out Amarok’s previous full-length as well as their split records! For now, I need to revisit these four tracks and spend another hour with this record; and so should you too!
Note: Resilience can be purchased on 180-gram 2xLP via the band’s own label Vulture Print in the US and Vendetta Records in Europe: 200 on Citrus (EU), 200 on Jade (US), and 300 Black. Of course, you can also get a copy on their tour with our friends in Mizmor; the package is still on the road until the end of July and here are the remaining dates:
7/19/2024 Garrison – Toronto, ON
7/20/2024 Piranha (Upstairs) – Montreal, QC
7/21/2024 Ralph’s Diner – Worcester, MA
7/23/2024 TV Eye – Queens, NY
7/24/2024 Johnny Brenda’s – Philadelphia, PA
7/25/2024 Preserving Underground – Pittsburgh, PA
7/26/2024 Cobra Lounge – Chicago, IL
7/27/2024 Cosmic Eye – Lincoln, NE
7/28/2024 The Crypt – Denver, CO
7/29/2024 Metro Music Hall – Salt Lake City, UT
7/30/2024 Holland Project – Reno, NV (no Mizmor)
7/31/2024 Thee Stork Club – Oakland, CA
