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Funebrarum are one of the better-kept secrets of the U.S. Death Metal scene. They came just a little too late to be considered a lost '90s gem, but too early to be considered a great revival act, so they've ended up being an obscure underground act despite a steady career since the 2000s. This has led to their debut, Beneath the Columns of the Abandoned Gods, being treated as a cult classic among their dedicated fans and, as a newcomer to the band, I'm inclined to agree with that.

You'd generally expect a band from the New Jersey area to sound something like Incantation, and there's certainly a bit of that in how they write riffs, but Funebrarum dig more into that old, ugly Finnish Death Metal sound, particularly the dirty, malignant savagery of Abhorrence. There's not an ounce of grace or technicality in this release, just churning, buzzing riffs, murky guttural growls, and a dedication to being as repulsive and inaccessible as possible. I do wish the guitars were more prominent in the mix, as they tend to get drowned out by the drumming and vocals, but the riffs themselves are often solid slices of dirty, old-fashioned Death Metal that meld with the blasting drums and pugilistic grunts to make vicious, slimy walls of sound like on the opener "Tombs of Sleeping Darkness" or the massive centerpiece "Miasma of Pestilence", so that's hardly a stinging criticism. If you can't get enough of the old Scandinavian Death Metal sound and missed this band like everyone else back in the day, then you owe yourself to add Beneath the Columns of Abandoned Gods to your collection.