Metal Underground.com

Black metal is famous for its cold and depressing atmosphere, but also infamous for its serious lack of innovation and originality. Funeral in Heaven’s latest EP, “Daiwaye Haaskam Saha Paralowa,” which roughly means “The Miracles of Destiny and Luxuries of the Life After Life,” has all the benefits of the former and very few of the downfalls of the latter. The EP only contains two tracks, but both songs are long and complex enough to fully warrant a thorough listening from the black metal crowd.

Funeral in Heaven’s music is heavily based on traditional old school black metal, but there’s a reason why they have named themselves a “Hela Black Metal” band instead. Both tracks “Malediction of Veracity: Udhbhawaya/Punarbhawaya” and “The Origins of Evil: Abhawaya” have enough of an influence from their Sri Lankan heritage to justify the new sub-genre labeling. There are quite a few sounds throughout the songs that will never be heard from the black metal flowing out of Norway and other black metal havens.

The EP’s title and the song names are virtually guaranteed to be unpronounceable by anyone hailing from a land other than Sri Lanka, but the music itself will speak to fans of black metal from around the world. Melody and misanthropy are melded together to create a sound that is as mournful as any suicidal black metal act but with more depth. The opening track starts off with the sounds of nature and a match being struck and then heads into a slow and sad guitar arrangement. Heavy distortion is soon applied to the guitars and hellish shrieks begin resonating from the bottom of the mix. The middle of the song showcases the “Hela” aspect of the metal, as the guitars are dropped to be replaced by more traditional instruments. A series of beats on the Thabla and the use of the stringed Esraj are combined with a woman chanting in despair to make the song seem like a dirge instead of an extreme metal track.

“The Origins of Evil: Abhawaya” also starts off heavy on the atmosphere, with vampiric whispering and the sound of gunfire in the distance. The guitar and drum parts get significantly faster and more aggressive than on the previous track, however. A change occurs at the middle of the track again, this time in the form of a long feedback reverberation accompanied by incomprehensible female vocals. The effect is actively abrasive towards the listener, which is probably on purpose, but anyone wearing headphones during that particular segment should be forewarned that they are going to develop a headache if they keep the volume cranked up. The track ends in the grand tradition of Marduk, with a drawn out physics-defying scream that makes one wonder if the vocalist is going through intense pain.

Like most black metal, the music on “Daiwaye Haaskam Saha Paralowa” occasionally suffers from repetitive guitar riffs, but any complaints are generally outweighed by the overall atmosphere and use of Sri Lankan instruments. The mix of depressing mood and original melodies will likely appeal both to black metal traditionalists and fans who want a fresher sound.