Sinister Creed

A little over ten years after the last full length, Dutch black metal band Funeral Winds has returned with Sinister Creed.  Now in their twenty seventh year as an active group, these days the project is down to founder Hellchrist Xul with the addition of MZI (Kvltist) on session drums.  The lineup changes clearly haven’t set Funeral Winds back by any means, as Sinister Creed is a raging thirty five minutes of violent riffing and non-stop intensity that channels the rawer black metal sound in all of its glory.

It’s clear that the instrumentals on this album aren’t trying to reinvent the wheel by any means, but when they’re able to channel this level of violence and power from one song to the next there really isn’t any need to.  Hellchrist Xul wastes little time, as each piece comes in scorching hot out of the gate and bludgeons the listener into submission before moving onto the next idea.  While this might suggest that this is a non-stop blast fest, there is enough variation between songs to keep each one feeling slightly different from the last.  Even when Funeral Winds isn’t going full throttle the razor sharp tonality of the guitars and weight of the drums feels like it’s going to tear you to pieces, which is quite enticing for this type of black metal.  Some of the strongest moments come near the end of Sinister Creed, as the material goes for slightly longer arrangements and allows some darker atmospherics to seep into the onslaught.

When you have guitar and drum work that’s this fast paced and raw, it makes sense to have a vocal performance that is able to provide the same level of intensity and Sinister Creed absolutely nails this element.  Hellchrist Xul has a higher scream/shriek that is right at the front of the recording and doesn’t waver in power for a single second; with each word sounding like it’s stabbing you directly in the chest.  Aside from some operatic vocals on “Black Moon Over Saturn” the screams remain the focus, and they barely give the listener a chance to breathe for the entire album.

You probably have a pretty good idea of whether Sinister Creed is the type of black metal album that you’ll be drawn to or not.  If raw and violent material that doesn’t let up for a single second sounds like a good time, Funeral Winds’ latest is a must listen.  But if you’re looking for a shake-up of the traditional genre elements, this isn’t the place to be.  Even after twenty-seven years Funeral Winds is just as chaotic and intense as in their early days, and that’s a great thing.  Sinister Creed is out now on Avantgarde Music.

-Review by Chris Dahlberg

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