Funeral Nation - Molted from Sin

Share this on Facebook | Share this on Twitter

To write reviews for compilations is always complicated work. We are dealing with old material, so if you already know the band, it can be a boring experience; but if you don’t know, it can be a good time. To be honest, even being an old Metalhead as I am, I wasn’t introduced to the work of the Thrash/Black Demons from Chicago (Il) called FUNERAL NATION, an old Hell stallion that was born on 1989. Since they came back in 2012, they are as nasty as sick as always, and on “Molted from Sin”, we can see how they are honest to themselves.

This compilation is made from material from their first Demo Tape “State of Insanity” (from 1989, songs from 1 to 5), from their 1993 Demo Tape “The Benediction”, and from their 2017 EP “Funeral Nation”. It seems that the band evolved a little, keeping their musical work as primitive and nasty as in the past, but we can face it as a matter of identity, because their Thrash/Black Metal insight mix influences from DESTRUCTION, SODOM, KREATOR, SLAYER on their earlier age, some Hardcore Metal touches in the vein of old VOIVOD, but always with their own personality. So let the gates of Hell open wide and set these maniacs free!

The sound quality is nasty during all the songs, and as time passes, they seem to sound rawer and even filthier. Yes, from 1989 to 2017, they became nastier, but it fits on what they play, and their songs wouldn’t fit on something cleaner. It was a quest for something organic, so we can say that they did the right thing, besides some tunes on the drums could be better sometimes.

This compilation has some excellent songs, because the band is not a clone, but a veteran. So be prepared for some good times when dealing with songs as the brutal “Your Time Has Come” (filled with raw energy and showing very good rhythmic session), the bloody puke of blasphemy of “Reign of Death” (a Hardcore Metal song with some “motorheadian” feeling, especially on guitars), the total oppressive “Sign of Baphomet” with its good and hooking work from vocals (and excellent rhythmic changes), the excellent melodic lines from “Encased in Glass” (a darkened and morbid song, indeed, with some nasty melodies in the middle of slow and morbid tempos), the long and filled with many interesting arrangements “The Apocalypse” (another one with excellent Thrash/Black Metal feeling created by these excellent guitars), the seductive filthiness of the Power/Thrash fury unleashed by “Laceration”, the raw energy rush shown on “Before the Dawn”, and the furious snarls shown on the very good “Funeral Nation” can be named as their nastier moments.

Originality: 8
Songwriting: 10
Memorability: 9
Production: 8