How to describe LUNAR FUNERAL? Let's go with Stoner/Doom with heavy blues and psychedelic infusions. Fuzzy Doom? Whatever. However you'd like to categorize them, they are raw and emotive, but their darkness comes more from dense gravity than an evil aesthetic. There's more introspection than aggression with these lads. On July 28, 2021 the duo from St. Petersburg, Russia released their second full-length album, "Road to Siberia," on Regain Records.

"Road to Siberia" is an album to immerse yourself in. With seven tracks spanning almost a full hour, these aren't hit and run songs. Two tracks crack the 12-minute mark, verging on Prog or Jam proportions. It's groovy and psychedelic saturated tunage that could be a soundtrack to a Tarantino film, or a long-lost demo from the STOOGES. It's sexy and raw and evocative. This isn't your traditional visceral, aggressive metal, but it is visceral.

There's something about this album that is utterly captivating. Maybe it's the Stoner approach they seem to take-grabbing an infectious riff and then repeat, repeat, inflect, repeat, repeat, inflect. There's no rushing, no urgency, just a sustained insistence with fuzzy edges and a distorted inside that create an ambiance of hazy self-assurance. Layer on to that clean, echo-chambered vocals that wander through the songs like a fevered ghost. I swear, you can be stone cold sober and this album will make you feel high.

LUNAR FUNERAL is at their best when they stick to the above noted method. With that said, my pick of standout tracks are: "The Thrill," "25^th Hour," "Black Bones," and "Your Fear is Giving Me Fear." The downside to the band's approach is when they latch on to a drift that's not so compelling or interesting, they can become ponderous. So, 12 minutes of "The Thrill" flies by like three minutes; whereas the equally long "Don't Send Me to Rehab" feels like an hour.  All that is to say that not all the tracks are great, but the ones that are, are.

"Road to Siberia" was a surprise album for me. I found myself coming back to it over and over again. The songs remind me of lives that are defined by bad decisions and slow ruin-you know, the stuff of cautionary tales. "Road to Siberia" sounds like a Flannery O'Connor story reads. This is a band you want to see in a smoky bar, or an intimate club. You want the vinyl and not the digital. If you even remotely enjoy this album, you'll need to pick up "Sex on the Grave" which Regain is also re-releasing. There are tracks on that album that will convert you to a religion that has yet to be formed. LUNAR FUNERAL. Very cool stuff.