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Unearthing the Metal Underground: Netherlands' Funeral Winds

Funeral Winds has been swinging its battle axe for over thirty years, rising up from the Netherlands but sounding as though they came straight from the netherworld. One “Hellchrist Xul” is the only original member remaining. The vocalist/guitarist is seemingly the only full-fledged member at all, in the sense that other musicians are employed on a session basis. Now, in the final days of the first month of the new year, Funeral Winds is set to release its eighth full-via France’s legendary Osmose Productions. “333” is an eight-song platter of tried-and-true, lo-fi black metal that’s consistent with the band’s established sound.

Primitive black metal is nothing new. And the new Funeral Winds doesn’t throw any curve balls. But the long-running disciples of death are worthy of attention because of the genuine primal nature at hand. Songs like “Sovereign of Shadows” and “Cast the Gauntlet of Doom” are so sharp, violent and noisy that it sounds as though demons have possessed Hellchrist Xul and company during the recording. If that’s a little bit melodramatic, perhaps a more realistic description is that the seasoned black metal maniacs continue to perform with the admirable rage of kids jamming in a garage, but ones who are able to capture their dark vision.