Review by JD on May 23, 2009.

Norwegian Blackened Doom Metal mixed effortlessly with some real deal Death Metal... that is what we exactly have here. American based The Funeral Pyre are explained as heavy black shrouded metal with the overall ambiance of a funeral home just before a atomic bomb goes off... when they explode, seems like that atomic attack. Extreme, huh?

The Funeral Pyre comes at you from Los Angeles, and has been a breath of fresh air from the stagnancy of that scene. They are ethereal, dark and maximumly heavy. This is not in any way close to the glam metal LA has offered up in the past, or tries to do now... this is pure and malevolent metal at it's maximum output. Their EP is as extreme and fierce as any release that has came out this year... perhaps in the last few years.

"December" Ep has only five songs on it's shiny surface, but each ones are quality slabs of heavy and exceedingly mind numbing music that has the power to reach into the darkest corner of peoples souls, and finds that one horrible place that is better off hidden.... even from ones own self. They then begin to ravage what is left of your spirit from there, and their job is nearly done.

'Into The Soil' is a doomish hell spawned sound that plods your cranium until it cracks into several pieces, while 'Frail And Dying' is a Death Metal classic that torches your mind in one fell swoop. The Ep is exactly like that throughout... and leaves you wishing that this had been a full album instead. It is well assured, The Funeral Pyre will be a band to watch.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 8.5
Atmosphere: 8
Production: 7.5
Originality: 8
Overall: 8.5

Rating: 8.1 out of 10