Band:	Fvnerals
Album:	Let The Earth Be Silent
Style:	Post-Rock, Doom metal
Release date:	February 03, 2023
A review by:	musclassia

01. Ashen Era
02. Descent
03. For Horror Eats The Light
04. Annihilation
05. Rite
06. Yearning
07. Barren

Fvnerals have built their burgeoning reputation in evoking the kind of subtle gloominess that is fitting of a funeral. Curious, then, that their plea to Let The Earth Be Silent sees that gloominess solidify into something louder and heavier; however, it’s a direction that hugely pays off for them.

I discovered British act Fvnerals back in 2015 (not unlike two other bands that I’ve already reviewed this month) courtesy of their two-song EP The Path, a record in which sullen vocals solemnly emoted above bleak instrumental backdrops that occasionally brought some volume, but mostly delivered heaviness via harrowing atmosphere rather than loudness or intensity, in a manner reminiscent of Chelsea Wolfe’s more subdued and darker albums. I’ve been slightly flippant in the past in using ‘Chelsea Wolfecore’ to refer to the increasing number of acts that feature hushed female singing in tandem with understated guitars that border on styles such as post-rock and doom, but there’s evidently range within this niche, with Wolfe herself showing just how loudly heavy such music can become via her collaboration with Converge. Fvnerals embraced both the metallic and dark ambient ends of said range on 2016’s Wounds, and this newest album represents a further expansion of their dynamic range.

The group’s Bandcamp description places them on the fringes of doom, post-rock, shoegaze and dark ambient, and although I’m not sure how much shoegaze contributes to Let The Earth Be Silent, the other sounds are clearly present. The dark ambience is pivotal throughout, and right from the off, the eerie, discordant drones and ominous drumbeat produce an atmosphere that is firmly dark and sinister. However, the difference between dark ambient and drone doom metal can sometimes be as simple as adding loud guitars, and “Ashen Era” switches genre midway through as instantly as that ominous drumbeat becomes louder and the guitars solidify into crushing distortion. What doesn’t change is the ghostly, haunting nature of Tiffany Ström’s vocals, which range from ethereal higher-pitched lines (which, when layered in “Yearning”, create something of an angelic choir) to darker, lower-pitched singing that is typically placed more centrally in the mix.

Let The Earth Be Silent is a masterful demonstration of tension; the instrumental layering and sinister sound effects weaved into the mix keep you absolutely compelled as the tracks gradually ebb and flow in intensity. The record is rarely ever at anything more than a ponderous pace, yet it never threatens to become tedious, always incorporating enough intent and transitioning from one phase to the next at the right moment to sustain suspense. It certainly helps that the production on this record is absolutely perfect; every drumbeat, vocal line, guitar track, sound effect, or noise of any kind sounds exactly as it needs to, the lower-pitched drums reverberating with atmosphere while the cymbals crash emphatically.

This new album is an advancement in several ways on what Fvnerals were trying to accomplish on Wounds, but I feel like the production here plays a pivotal role in Let The Earth Be Silent having such a strong impact. The force and tone of the drum sounds on “For Horror Eats The Light” brings an almost industrial edge to the heaviest portions of this track. It’s not just the drums though; Wounds incorporated metal in a number of occasions, but I never felt it had the depth that the group accomplish on here, whether that be with crushing distortion or ominous ringing clean tones. There’s also some post-rock tremolos used here, although the sinister nature of them on the likes of “Descent” and “For Horror Eats The Light” almost makes a mockery of descriptions of A.A. Williams’s As The Moon Rests as a shift in a post-metal direction.

Now, by no means think that I am praising Let The Earth Be Silent just because this is a metal website and the album is heavier than most of its ilk; this album is phenomenal in both its loud and quiet passages. I can think of few dark ambient records that I’ve found as compelling as the chillingly ominous atmospheres Fvnerals concoct here; one that I can think of is Schammasch’s The Maldoror Chants, and I feel like tracks such as “Annihilation” and “Rite”, with their insidious tantric chanting, tribal-influenced percussion and echoing drones, are destined to appeal to anyone that enjoys Schammasch’s dark ambient explorations.

Let The Earth Be Silent is an album with a very singular focus; there is no moment on the album where Fvnerals even consider significantly increasing the tempo, or bringing in concrete riffs in favour of sustained chords and drones, metal or non-metal alike (the closest they get is arguably on “For Horror Eats The Light”). This does mean that if the core concept of this record doesn’t appeal, there won’t be any unusual tangent to latch onto. However, they realize this core concept so well, and have such a supreme control of how to balance the abundance of different layers and dynamics ranging across this album, that the atmosphere throughout is undeniably compelling. The only silence that this album is manifesting is that resulting from anyone listening to it being rendered speechless.