This is the second album from German doom metal band Fvneral Fvkk.
Fvneral Fvkk’s 2019’s debut Carnal Confessions was one of that year’s unexpected highlights. So, when Indecent Idols appeared on the horizon, all manner of alarms were triggered. Expectations, shall we say, are sky high. Fvneral Fvkk deliver 42 minutes of new material, and it’s as harrowing as it is excellent.
Indecent Idols has exactly what you’d want from a Fvneral Fvkk album – killer songs. This band struck gold seven long years ago, and apparently they’re not done mining such a rich seam.
You can instantly tell that Indecent Idols is a cut above the norm simply by virtue of the fact that the intro song is worth listening to. An atmospheric mood-setter, it brings an appropriate sense of sombre majesty with its grandiose entrance, allowing the following song – Crosses to the Gallows – to hit even harder. It really makes you realise even more than usual just how pointless most intro tracks really are.
Anyway, a good intro alone does not a good record make. Thankfully, the entire album is a grim triumph. Across seven songs, Fvneral Fvkk demonstrate an easy mastery of classic doom metal. For such an ancient, well-worn style, it’s remarkable how vibrant Fvneral Fvkk’s music is. Now, vibrant might seem like a strange word to employ when talking about gloomy monastic doom, but these songs feel alive in a way that much doom metal does not. Clearly influenced by the past, the music is not chained to it; Fvneral Fvkk dominate their influences, make them their own, and deliver a platter of doom metal songs that are immensely high quality.
Filled with captivating melodies, epic hooks, oceans of despondent heaviness, and horrifying subject matter, Indecent Idols is likely the best doom metal album you’ll need for some time. It’s as a dark as sin, but such a strong record. Stylistically they’re doing nothing different with the style, but they don’t need to; classic doom metal is well-defined for a reason, and Fvneral Fvkk exemplify the power of the genre when it’s in the right hands.
Seven years have passed, but it’s like Fvneral Fvkk have never been away. Indecent Idols is another imposing slab of monumental doom metal, and if you’re in any way partial to the style this is a unmissable as it gets.
