Rose Funeral - The Resting Sonata
Released: January 20, 2009
Record Label: Metal Blade Records
When I received Rose Funeral's The Resting Sonata in the mail, I had high hopes. A band that's toured the country and built a large fan base in the States and Canada built off of DIY shows, and touring with big name acts like Unearth, the Red Chord, Emmure, and tons more. On top of all that, they are signed with Metal Blade records, which, if you're a metal head, is a household name.
The bio that came with the disc says the band “...brought fast paced riffs...” Sure enough, within the first minute, the band lives up to that. It continues to say, “...bone crushing breakdowns...” and once again, four minutes into the record, Rose Funeral delivers. And finally, “...just the right amount of melody to make the group brutal yet still catchy.” Well, in the words of Meatloaf, “Two out of Three Ain't Bad.”
Without a doubt, the band is certainly brutal. “Catchy,” however, is not an adjective I would use for this band. Usually, if I am not a fan of metal bands, I can at least appreciate what they do because of how talented the musicans are. The same, sadly, cannot be said of the musicians in this band. The drumming, while normally intricate and complex, is mediocre at best. The guitar work falls into the same category, often sounding more like warm up exercises than riffing or shredding. And the vocals, well, if you ever wondered what it would be like to sing with a mouth full of maple syrup, just listen to this record. It just sounds like these guys want to be metal, but were too lazy to put forth any effort into learning their instruments.
The only song I feel has any real heart behind it is “Embalming the Masses.” This is the one song where the band goes beyond being tight and focuses on being better musicians. The music remains brutal and fast paced, but the leads are more intricate and the solo doesn't sound like a warm-up exercise. If only the band had continued this line of thought on the rest of the record.
This band is still relatively young, so I have faith that they can become better musicians for any of their future releases. Everyone has to start somewhere. After all, maybe their musicianship for this record is reflective in their album title. I mean, it is called The Resting Sonata.
Hah, a promo for this is available at the site I work for. I was thinking about reviewing it but I listened to one song on their myspace first. Turned back immediately.
You make it sound so terrible. This album isn't Rose Funeral's best, but it's not that bad.
The breakdowns alone should make the score you gave it higher.
You make it sound so terrible. This album isn't Rose Funeral's best, but it's not that bad.
The breakdowns alone should make the score you gave it higher.
False. The breakdowns on this record were, like everything else on this record, weak and mediocre. I've heard middle school orchestras with better breakdowns than this record. This whole record sounded like they just didn't give a fuck about the music and wanted to put forth a tough-guy front. Too bad they were terrible at that too. W-E-A-K.
False. The breakdowns on this record were, like everything else on this record, weak and mediocre. I've heard middle school orchestras with better breakdowns than this record. This whole record sounded like they just didn't give a fuck about the music and wanted to put forth a tough-guy front. Too bad they were terrible at that too. W-E-A-K.
Yeah looking back, I don't see how I could write that.
This album is embarrassing.
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