Voices of Funeral

Total destruction. That’s the title that came to my mind almost immediately after listening to the first few notes of “Voices of Funeral”, the second EP of SS – 18 from Russia which was recorded in 2008 and was finally released in 2010 in very few number of copies. This release contains four tracks of only eighteen minutes of duration. Although the material that they present to us is short in duration, it is very representative of their sound and it presents perfectly their philosophy and everything that the band wants to pass to the listener through this specific project. And that it is nothing more, nothing less than hate, violence and scorched earth. Concerning the music, SS-18 play fast, chaotic Black Metal which brings to your mind bands such as Marduk, Hate Forest and more, but approaching that kind of music style with an industrial/ noise/ war aspect which creates a very intense result.

The element of violence rules in the tracks, something that is obvious in many aspects of the band’s music. The riffs are violent, fast, chaotic and warlike, they create the first images of war. The tracks are quite short in duration, exactly as long as they should be in order to deliver the feelings and the images that the music creates without becoming tedious. Apart from the size, also the structure of the tracks is such that it holds the listener nailed throughout the entire album. The industrial and noise references give to the sound a frozen feeling and a more chaotic atmosphere. So it is as the listener can smell the burned flesh along with the dirty smoke of fire, it creates images of burned, dismembered corpses and imprisons the listener in a feeling of panic and agony which finds no relief.

The guitars, although the riffs are not difficult or complex in technical approach, it is the instrument that rules in the compositions. Their special sound, other times dirty, other times powerful, other times monotonous and cold, it transmits the sentiments and the images with absolute accuracy. The drums are fast and violent, their lines are quite interesting, although their rhythm is mostly hyper – speed. Unfortunately, the bass is not audible at all. The vocals are whispering, harsh screams and they have much passion and nice expression. The production is harsh, raw, dirty but not bass and the sound that is produced is primitive and fits to the style of the compositions. The mixture has not given any attention to the bass which is almost lost in the tracks, so the compositions don’t have the depth that I would like. The lyrics are written in Russian and I think that you don’t have to speak Russian in order to understand that they refer to the total annihilation of mankind.

This EP is my first acquaintance with SS – 18 and it made a good impression to me. I don’t say that it is something original or something you have never heard before but the way that the band composes the tracks and the special characteristics that are added to their style, Industrial/ noise, make the album quite interesting. Their fans surely have already bought the album. The rest of you, if you want to get to know the band, “Voices of Funeral” is a short but very good release to make your first acquaintance with the band.