Finally, the weekend is upon us. What better way to kick it off than with the latest installment of "Funeral Doom Friday". For those who are new to this column; each week features a new or classic album from the realm of extreme doom. Much of funeral/death doom's might comes from an oppressive emotional weight and the use of death or black metal motifs (played at a trudging pace, of course.)
Pioneers like Mournful Congregation, Evoken, and Esoteric have mastered this blend of dirge and destruction. For 25 years, they have methodically built compositions that stretch for dozens of minutes all while keeping fans enthralled. Time has elapsed since the days of Thergothon and much like the world around us, the genre has evolved. Today's modern bands contort the very construct of the genre, breeding darkly refreshing new work. Their work thankfully gives this column plenty of material to share.
Enjoy this week's post and check out prior features here. Please feel free to also share thoughts or suggestions for future installments in the comments section below or to me directly on Twitter.
Clouds have become a sort of mainstay in this column, and for great reason. Their music tends to speak for itself. The atmospheric formula of doom metal has been a personal favorite of late and with each effort, they seem to get better and better. The band announced their third full-length album, Dor, recently. The new record follows the 2017 Destin EP and their latest single, "Do You See Me" from earlier this year. To celebrate the announcement of their new album, Clouds gave Funeral Doom Friday a brand new music video for the self-titled track from Dor.
The video features Pantheist mastermind, Kostas Panagioutou, as the video's main character. The video was directed by vocalist and drummer, Daniel Neagoe. In the video, Kostas appears stricken with grief and anguish as he tries to get rid of a photo of a woman. He attempts to burn and bury the photo; he tries to run, but the photo (or perhaps the memory of her in the form of a photo) continues to reappear. It ultimately becomes too much for the main character as he breaks down in the middle of the woods.
Check out an exclusive premiere of the video and song below! Be sure to also preorder Dor from Bandcamp.
