I was thinking Funeral Doom might be euphemism for Atmospheric Black Metal. I was also thinking a band with a name like LONE WANDERER would actually be made up of a single multi-instrumentalist. I was totally wrong on both counts: Funeral Doom is a bit atmospheric but it's not ABM and LONE WANDERER is a quartet. They been around for 12 years and have put out one EP and three full length albums, the latest, "Exequiae," released on January 30, 2026 via High Roller Records.

LONE WANDERER hails from Freiburg im Breisgau in Germany. Not sure where that is in relation to any place I might know of in Germany—and, yes, I have been to Germany many times and have even lived there—but it looks like it might be south. And warm, it looks warm. Thank you Google. But even if I didn't check Google, I probably could have picked up that vibe through the music. Is it possible to create warm funeral doom? Did LONE WANDERER just create a new subgenre?

The word 'exequiae' is Latin for funeral. Thank you again Google, but I guess I should have known that myself. But also, isn't that a bit like naming a doom album "Letum"? I mean is it fair, or especially creative, to name an album after your subgenre? Just saying. But that bitchy quip aside, I like this album.

With five tracks and 73 minutes of play time, each track is almost an EP unto itself so doing a track-by-track review isn't going to happen. Also, I'm not going to list standout tracks, because, again, every track is like an EP with movements that come across like entirely separate tracks. That isn't a bad thing, it's just the nature of the album.  

With that said, there is a melodic and cinematic quality about this album that differentiates it from others in the same or adjacent subgenres. It's less grey hellscape, less dark, less evil than its cousins. It still has hints of melancholy and solitude, but it's melodic and warm. I guess hints of blackgaze but with less discord or shoegaze without the ethereal vocals. Either way, it shares that hypnotic quality which marks the gaze subgenres.

Got to admit, I'm totally digging this album. A great piece to get lost in. It feels big enough to escape the troubles of the world and strong enough to keep those troubles out . . . at least for one hour 12 minutes and 24 seconds.