Year: 2026
Label: self-released

I’ll be honest, I almost skipped this album in my promo queue because the name of the band sounded silly. I know, that’s a stupid reason to ignore a band, but when you’ve got hundreds and hundreds of albums up for grabs, every detail counts and first impressions make all the difference. Funeral Pile almost sound like lethal hemorrhoids.

But, as you can see, I didn’t skip the album. The description grabbed my attention: I’ve lately enjoyed listening to gothic, melodic death/doom, which is the direction the promo mail hinted at, so awkward name be damned. And, despite the album not being perfect by any means, I’m glad I didn’t pass it by.

Superficially, Funeral Pile’s sound indeed is the kind that will appeal to friends of melodic, gothic death/doom descended from the drab British trio of Paradise Lost, Anathema and My Dying Bride. However, scratch just a bit at the surface, and you’ll discover that Summoning’s sound expands well beyond those.

In fact, a lot of the time I’d rather call this melodic mid-tempo death metal than gothic death/doom as such. Some songs, like Chimera, eschew most of the drabness for a more uptempo, traditional death metal onslaught. There are some pretty fierce riffs here and there, certainly more than yer average wannabe-Paradise Lost imitators have. But, for sure, melodic death/doom is appropriate because it instantly puts Funeral Pile into an appropriate ballpark.

Then, throw in a hefty dose of late-90’s dark/black metal. You know, maybe some early Agathodaimon and some post-first album Throes Of Dawn and what have you. There’s a definite debt owed to the more melodic, less extreme dark/black metal acts of 30 years ago here, despite Funeral Pile not utilizing synths. This is the trinity that constitutes Funeral Pile’s sound: doom/death/black metal, all with a decidedly melodic bent.

Musically, this results in a concoction that’s actually rather pleasing to the ear. There’s a beautiful sense of melancholy here, combined with rage that is especially accentuated by vocalist Matthias hoarse, throaty growl. The songs, whilst perhaps being a bit nondescript a lot of the time, include some nice melodies and balance tender interludes with heavier bits. There’s an understanding of dynamics in the compositions, seeking to balance light with shadow and elements of death, doom and black metal together so that none becomes too dominant. All that’s missing are those truly memorable melodic hooks that would conclusively, irrevocably sink themselves into the listener.

There’s one weakness to the album, though: the sound. The drums are a bit too prominent, sharp and flat in the mix. But, worst of all, during the more traditionally death metal sections, the guitars sound thin, distant and feeble. The aching gothic melodies sound great, but the rhythm guitars definitely don’t pack enough punch. This makes the album sound softer and meeker than would be beneficial for it.

But this one flaw notwithstanding, Summoning is a nice little surprise. Yes, more memorable songs would be a definite plus, but even as it stands, Summoning manages to convince with its beautiful atmospheres and its understanding of the interplay between its different aspects. The result is a fine piece of somber melancholy that is worth checking out if you love melodic death/doom or the melodic black metal of the late 90’s.

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