THE FUNERAL ORCHESTRA - Negative Evocation Rites CD

'Negative Evocation Rites’ is the latest offering from Swedish glass-half-emptiers The Funeral Orchestra. It’s a grim fucking album of compelling funeral doom that borrows heavily from genre pioneers Skepticism, but opts to take their techniques in a much darker direction. The most obvious tip of the hat being the cavernous and minimal drums, lifting techniques from classical music and the role timpani drums can play in building crescendos and enhancing the drama as much as actually keeping time. This minimal yet expressive approach to drums is one of Skepticism’s many great gifts to metal as a whole, exemplifying how to get more from less, the importance of creative drumming in slower forms of metal, and touting the virtues of empty space. Look to Joe Gonclaves’ performance on Winter’s ‘Into Darkness’ for a similar rhythmic philosophy.