Dark Funeral

The Secrets of the Black Arts (Metal Blade)
by Scott Hefflon

Way to go, Metal Blade! With Nuclear Blast and Century Media literally dumping evil imported metal onto American shores, it seemed only logical you’d do the same. And Dark Funeral is no better or worse than any other black metal band. Their bio (besides sounding like a 14-year-old wrote it) is humorously filled with outrageous names coming and going in the band’s long four years together, but what really matters is the music, right? Not really, but anyway… In the hyperspeed drumming/blurred run-together riffs/screaming vocals semi-buried in the mix vein of non-keyboard black metal, Dark Funeral sounds dark and eerie, even when the only discernible word isn’t “Satan.” While interchangeable with other good black metal bands, at least Dark Funeral is an enjoyable constant with repeated listenings, and not an irritating constant.