Funeral Age - The Martyrdom Come Review

So last week, I reviewed Funeral Ages' first album, Fistful of Christ.  It was an energetic, intensified death metal album that was impressive for debut material.  After a line up change that resulted in the addition of a new drummer, Funeral Age came back in 2010 to once again destroy their fans with another epic death metal opus, The Martyrdome Come.  Featuring a clean, refined sound and a technical feel, Funeral Age melts faces once again in what could be the best underground death metal album I have ever heard.  I am far from one for death metal.  I adore almost anything black metal, as well as doom, but something about the look and sound of death metal turned me off.  Bands like Obituary and Cannibal Corpse are good for one song, if that.  The different between those bands and Funeral Age is that I can consistently listen to Funeral Age and still get a pumped up, excited feeling when I hear that opening chord instead of being bored right away.  Their songs differentiate from one another in such a way that they remain interesting and don't blend together.  While all tracks have a unique feel to them, they never stray too far from what Funeral Age is so good at doing, writing extremely brutal, yet catchy riffs.

Funeral Age has greatly improved their skills as musicians in the 6 year gap between albums.  The guitarist (who is also the vocalist) has really improved in both aspects.  His vocals are crisp and clear this time, which I am sure is somewhat due to the better production quality.  He has also added in some clean, choir like vocals that sound very Nevermore-esque, something that I applaud.  It gives songs like 'Lives For An Eye' an epic feel during the chorus, where these clean vocals shine through.  The guitar playing is quite amazing because it sounds massive!  Obviously, more than one guitar track was laid down in the studio but the sound is so big and in your face, it still is quite impressive it was only done by one guy.  The tones between the two main guitar lines that are constantly present are quite different, leaving anyone to believe that two different guitar players are behind them because playing style does play a huge role in the tone of the players guitar.  The bass is present in the music where the guitars are shredding a solo or running a quick, tremolo picked riff but it doesn't really get much of a chance to stand out on its own and shine for a while like it did in the previous album.  When I break the music down and look at it as different sections of the band, the drumming has to be my favorite part.  It is perfectly in time and sounds very cleaned up compared to Fistful of Christ.  The technical ability of the drummer is stunning, as well.  His speed and stamina is quite impressive, even for a death metal drummer.  The actual sound of the kit is massive and booming.  Every piece of the kit was carefully mic'd and shines through clearly in the mix.

Between the blasting intensity of the drums, the screaming cry of the vocals or the shredding sound of the guitar, Funeral Age does not disappoint.  Energy is at the forefront of their music and while their musicianship is excellent, the brutality is something that really sticks out to me.  While it isn't gore-filled, smashing-faces brutal, it still has that kick to it that really hits you hard.  Honestly, death metal has never sounded so good!

9.5/10