Prosthetic Records

Further focusing on a sound that THE FUNERAL PYRE has dabbled in over its nearly ten year history, Vultures At Dawn goes beyond the mandatory ‘this is our best record to date’ mantra that so many bands are trained to tout. That saying might be mostly label-inspired and lacking truth at after that two-or-so-year cycle for a new record, but The Funeral Pyre isn’t that usual band.

Two things are different for The Funeral Pyre. It really is the band’s best work yet and despite the occasional, misjudged consensuses, the band’s been hard at work honing this sound for what panned out to be Vultures At Dawn, even since its inception in 2001. Plus, it’s hardly been a year, let alone two, between an EP, split, or full-length for these Southern California scumbags.

Drawing inspiration from Gorgoroth, Dawn, Dissection, Beherit, and — somehow — the SoCal hardcore scene they grew up in alike, the band’s newfound focus might be partially because guitarist Justin Garcia is back in the fold. It might be guitarist James Joyce’s newfound experimentation beyond the boundaries of what’s ‘supposed to be’ in metal’s most esoteric subgenre. Or it might be drummer Alex Hernandez’s double bass rolls that seem unrelenting, at least until he slows it down. Maybe it’s also vocalist John Strachan’s poetic lyrics by way of throat-searing rasp, or maybe it’s bassist Adam Campbell’s chance to not only play with his fellow founding members, but to also record the record at his own Awkward Studios.

Throw all that into a pot, send it over to Ryan Butler at Arcane Digital and call it a day.

The fourth full-length, and third for Prosthetic Records, amidst a myriad of DIY splits, EPs, and self-booked tours, Vultures At Dawn sees the band mix their blend of Swedish and Norwegian influences into 44 minutes of music that hits the nodes of doom and thrash, but still stays black metal. Sure, it may be a contradiction on paper, but over Vultures’ eight tracks, the band has penned two songs past the seven-minute mark, and two of their, arguably (but not really), fastest songs yet. Whatever it is that the band has done over its tenure, it’s turned out to beyond any of The Funeral Pyre’s expectations, either in 2010, or in the band’s inception.

In a place known for money-grubbing gold diggers, fancy cars — and a knack for breeding bands like Atreyu, Avenged Sevenfold, and Bleeding Through — The Funeral Pyre has somehow found inspiration in European black metal, do-it-yourself tendencies, and the almighty riff. In this day and age, when has a little hard work and a sick riff ever hurt?