Mournful Congregation – The Book of Kings (2011)

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Australian Funeral Doom masters have returned with another release that will crush your soul and spirit, and you will be begging for more. In “The Book of Kings”, Mournful Congregation present four tracks clocking in at an impressive 76 minutes of morale-crushing Funeral Doom Metal, the stuff nightmares are made of. If you are a fan of the genre, be prepared to burn all your previous Funeral Doom CD’s and only listen to this gem for a few years (until the band releases something else).

With the band’s traditional three guitarist approach, the album opens up with the gut wrenching, 19 minute “The Catechism of Depression”. Not only does this track has an epic title, it also features excellent and depressive guitar riffing, a tempo so nicely set up that you could listen to this until you grow old, and a very emotional flow. This monumental opening track features a nice mixture of distorted guitar sections (tuned very low of course) and some acoustic passages that add to the emotional charge of this song.

The next aural assault comes under the name “The Waterless Streams”, another great name we might say, but it is also a very depressing and beautifully crafted song. The way this track changes its flow from slow paced weeping guitars, a bit more intense sections with vocals, and a nice calm culmination, is just a taste of how good the band really is in terms of crafting engaging and entertaining songs. This is probably our favorite song of this release, and one of the most accessible songs for non-believers, due to the fact that it is only 12 minutes long.

Opening with an acoustic section, “The Bitter Veils of Solemnity” packs another 12 minutes of melancholy and mysterious whispered vocals. Interesting enough this track is mainly acoustic, and once you start to realize this, you are already 10 minutes deep into the song. The atmosphere is very nicely crafted and the vocals give this track a very chilling sound, almost like something Empyrium or Tenhi have crafted in the past.

Closing with the all-out 30-minute opus “The Book of Kings”, the band wastes no time and opens with powerful riffs and the traditional growls. Going back and forth between crushing sections and atmospheric-like passages, the band nicely makes this 30 minute track go by effectively. The clean vocals feel very ritualistic and greatly enhance the overall mood of the song (crated by the guitars of course). Ending the song with a very emotional section, we are left with desire for more, just the way that Mournful Congregation always leaves us at the end of their releases.

Funeral Doom is obviously not a genre that everybody likes and sometimes people can’t even stand it. For those of us that we enjoy it, Mournful Congregation has managed to release one of the most impressive albums in the genre that we have ever listened to. “The Book of Kings” features over 70 minutes of majestically depressive music that is perfectly composed to transmit depressive emotions into the listener. The band has been perfecting their own sound and while clocking in some extremely long songs (30+ minutes), they never get dull or boring, truly an art in this genre.

Band: Mournful Congregation Album: The Book of Kings
Label: 20 Buck Spin

Release: November 8th, 2011

Oficial Site myspace
Genre: Funeral Doom Metal

Country: Australia

Rating: 90/100
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