UMUR "Children of the Scorn" is the debut full-length studio album by Finnish death metal act Funebre. The album was released through Spinefarm Records in 1991 and on an interesting sidenote it´s produced by Timo Tolkki (of Stratovarius fame). Funebre were formed in 1989 and released two demos before releasing the "Brainspoon" EP in 1990. The band were relatively short lived and after releasing "Children of the Scorn" they disbanded. Although never commercially successful or reaching other than obscure underground recognition, Funebre are widely regarded as one of the pioneers of the Finnish death metal scene along with artists like Abhorrence, Xysma, Disgrace, and Convulse.

Stylistically the material on "Children of the Scorn" continue the old school death metal style of the band´s previous releases, but while the preceding releases were rough drafts of what would come and at times sounded slightly amaturish, on "Children of the Scorn" Funebre fully deliver on the promise that the previous recordings after all showed and they bring a good quality product to the table. The playing is solid, The sound production is suitably raw and organic, and the songwriting is for the most part inspired and intriguing. Only "Grip of Insanity" have survived from the demo days. Other than that all material on the album are new original compositions. Funebre don´t have the most unique sound, but they deliver their music with both passion and great conviction. The growling vocals are high in the mix and they are pretty brutal for the genre.

While this isn´t exactly death/doom metal, one of the greatest features of the music are the many crushingly heavy doomy parts. Funebre understand how to vary pace though and also put in a couple of hooks along the way, so for an old school death metal release, "Children of the Scorn" is relatively varied. The morbid lead guitar work also deserves a mention as it brings the right gloomy atmsphere to the release (once or twice the atmosphere is also enchanced by the use of sinister sounding keyboards). A 3.5 star (70%) rating is fully deserved.

UMUR "Brainspoon" is a two-track, 10:44 minutes long EP release by Finnish death metal act Funebre. The EP was released through Whisper in Darkness Records in 1990. Funebre were formed in 1989 and released two demos before releasing "Brainspoon", which was their first label release. The band were relatively short lived and they disbanded in 1991 shortly after releasing their debut and sole full-length studio album "Children of the Scorn". Although never commercially successful or reaching other than obscure underground recognition, Funebre are widely regarded as one of the pioneers of the Finnish death metal scene along with artists like Abhorrence, Xysma, Disgrace, and Convulse.

Stylistically the two tracks on the EP are pretty standard old school death metal with both fast, mid-paced, and slow sections and an unintelligible growling vocalist in front. The sound production is rather messy and noisy. But the close to chaotic sounding production however provide the music with the right authentic old school death metal atmosphere. Both tracks featured on the EP are culled directly from the 1989 "Cranial Torment" demo, so that explains the semi-professional sound quality, the relatively immature songwriting, and sometimes crude musicianship.

Since both tracks are featured in exactly the same versions on the "Cranial Torment" demo along with three extra tracks, "Brainspoon" is a bit redundant today, also taking into consideration that most reissue versions of Funebre´s debut full-length studio album "Children of the Scorn" (Spinefarm Records, 1991) contains the full demo (including the two tracks featured on this EP) as bonus material. Rated on it´s own this is still a greatly charming old school death metal recording though and a 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Demo ´90" is the second demo recording by Finnish death metal act Funebre. The demo was independently released in 1990. It´s the successor to "Cranial Torment" from 1989. Funebre actually shortly disbanded between the two demos because original guitarist Samppa Haapio and drummer Seppo Kittilä left. A new guitarists was added to the lineup (Sami Uusitalo), and also a new bassist (Erkki Hellen) and a new drummer (Toni Uusitalo), making Funebre a quintet upon their reformation. Esa Vähäsöyrinki has switched from bass to guitar.

Stylistically Funebre begin to lean more towards the death/doom metal part of their style, although they still play faster parts too. It´s still Autopsy I´m mostly reminded of when listening to this demo, just as the case was when listening to "Cranial Torment". Massive lineup changes or not, Funebre still sounds a lot like themselves.

While "Cranial Torment" was a relatively long demo (featuring five tracks and a total playing time of 26:00 minutes), "Demo ´90" is more to the point featuring only three tracks and a total playing time of 10:08 minutes. The tracks are effective old school death metal and there´s been at least a little development between the two demos and "Demo ´90" definitely leaves a positive impression on me. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Cranial Torment" is the first demo recording by Finnish death metal act Funebre. The demo was independently released in 1989 and it´s possibly the first pure death metal release by a Finnish band. Other contemporary Finnish artists (like Sacred Crucifix and Phlegethon) had started combining their raw thrash metal sound with more brutal elements, but what they released was still essentially thrash metal. Funebre is on the other hand a 100% pure death metal act.

Stylistically this is pretty simple, raw, and brutal sounding death metal of the most old school type. Deep growling vocals, a combination of faster paced tremolo riffs and slow, more heavy death/doom metal riffs and rhythms (Autopsy is the first reference who comes to mind). Funebre are fairly well playing too and everything is delivered with skill and great conviction.

"Cranial Torment" also features a relatively well sounding production job, and considering that this is a 1989 death metal demo recording, there is loads of quality to be found here. Of course the songwriting is a little immature, and a bit more variation could have made the listening experience a little more interesting, but on the other hand Funebre still produce some pretty effective, mean, and heavy sounding death metal. This is definitely a seminal Finnish death metal demo and a 3 star (60%) demo is warranted.

optisailor2002 Xtreem Music continues their reissue series with yet another old school death metal record, Finland's Funebre's debut (and only) full length album, Children of the Scorn. Along with bands like Abhorrence, Funebre stands as one of the first death metal bands that come out of Finland, making them one of the pioneering bands of the genre out of the country. This reissue version of Children of the Scorn is my first encounter with Funebre's music, and it has certainly left a lasting impression.

The old school and unpolished production quality immediately hits the listeners as the album begins with Waiting for the Arrival, and unlike the many bands that attempt to emulate such a production, Funebre has the advantage of recording this back in the early 90s, making this piece of artwork as authentic as possible. True to attempts to create music as extreme and as hard-hitting as possible, the band does not hesitate to go straight into an aggressive section, lambasting listeners' ears right from the start as Waiting for the Arrival begins before gradually slowing down to a slightly doom-paced section, yet retaining the ferocity in the music throughout. The guitar tones of Sami and Esa are abrasive and heavily distorted, with no intention to provide any easy-listening moments for listeners. Drummer Toni is also flashy, displaying his moves throughout the album, instead of simply playing the role of the rhythmic instrument, topped by the gruff growls of Jari. Even bassist Erkki is clearly audible, especially on songs like Blood on White where he provides the low, rumbling presence in the music.

While the tracks on Children of the Scorn are undoubtedly old school death metal, the band has also included influences from other genres as well, including thrash metal influences in their music, like on Shiver and Walls that Held Screams, with the chaotic sounding guitar riffs and lead solos. The band also makes use of various sound effects (such as the tolling of the bells on Waiting for the Arrival) to create a chilling sense of unease in the listener, to good effect. Of course, this being the late 80s-early 90s, the focus on fast and furious guitar work is obvious as guitarists Sami and Esa constantly include shred-infused guitar solos throughout, complete with the somewhat flamboyant play on the whammy bar, like on Sinner's Eve. Songs like Grip of Insanity even sounds like the early beginnings of the Swedish style of death metal with the riffing and drumming patterns.

Also, it is nice to hear how on this record, the band has managed to help lay down the foundations of what bands like Incantation would sound like in the future, being originally released a year before the classic Onward to Golgotha, with tracks like Blood on White sounding like a less dark version of Incantation materials. The band also does not shy away from using keyboards to shroud the music in a heavy atmosphere, as heard on Blood on White and Congenital Defeat. The numerous slow moments on the album also sees Funebre displaying some of their most emotional material, especially on the interlude Spirits Bewail, with the acoustic guitars and a somewhat symphonic backdrop.

Included on the Xtreem Music reissue of the album as well are the band's 1989 and 1990 demos, displaying the growth and evolution in the band's musical directions, though markedly rawer and muddier than the material on Children of the Scorn. The music on the demos are overall slower, and the production quality of the demos help to make these tracks sound even darker than those on Children of the Scorn. Even tracks like Grip of Insanity (present both on the 1990 demo and Children of the Scorn) sound heavier and hits the listeners harder. Jari's vocals are more throaty and gurgled on the demos, and tend to lean more towards a brutal death metal style, giving the songs a different and more brutal feel.

Overall, this reissue is a worthy purchase for fans of good, early death metal, and fans of Finnish death metal that want to track the progress of Funebre as a band, with more than 1 hour of music present on the album.

Originally written for http://www.heavymetaltribune.com/