Funeral Mist – Deiform (Review)

This is the fourth album from Swedish black metal solo act Funeral Mist.

The follow up to 2018’s vicious Hekatomb, Deiform contains 54 minutes of new material. It is an atmospheric and immersive release, filled with grandeur and weighty concepts and themes.

The album is also very aggressive, and demands your attention like a lethal predator that’s too dangerous to take your eyes off. There is an aspect to the Funeral Mist experience that’s blisteringly fast, with skin-shredding blast beats and abrasive guitars, and on Deiform these parts are murderously effective. Other elements such as choral enhancements and bleak melodies are deployed with skill, and altogether the album is a work of sublime creative darkness.

The songs are textured and intelligently-crafted, with songwriting expertly handled by the band’s controlling mind. Whether restrained and introspective, brutal and grim, or anything else, the quality of the music here never drops below the highest levels.

The singer, (who is also the voice of Marduk), gives a sterling performance throughout. His vocals are intense and passionate, delivering variety and nuance to a record that is already varied and nuanced, and strong enough to be an instrumental release; his voice simply adds yet another layer of depth to the songs.

This is a multifaceted work of dark blackened art. Deiform has come too late in the year to make it on to my year end list, but trust me when I say that it rightfully deserves a place on it.

Essential listening.