MOURNERS LAMENT is a funeral doom metal band from Chile, who formed in 2004. Their latest album, “A Grey Farewell,” is their second full-length album; they have also released a demo and two EPs. MOURNERS LAMENT’s music is, as you probably guessed by the genre they have chosen to play, is slow, morbid, and a little Gothic. It doesn’t reinvent any wheels but the beauty of funeral doom is that it’s already perfect just the way it is. Why fix what isn’t broken? With that being said, however, each song is different from the one before it; the album offers more than enough variety to keep engagement levels very high. There is a symphonic element to their brand of doomed out death as well but it isn’t bombastic…if anything, it has a classical, regal quality to their cavernous sound. It is also melodic when the need arises, providing dim light in the darkest corners of their recesses.

The music is slow, no doubt about that, but it’s riff based and the songs move a lot smoother than some funeral doom—there isn’t a whole of of passages where nothing happens. The album is always on the move to the next part, offering a smooth flow. “Towards Abandonment” opens the album with the Gothic elements I spoke of earlier. The clean keys/piano are melancholy incarnate but the melodic guitar mixing with them just makes it all the more morbid and decayed. The guitars open up and concentrate on heavy riffs when the vocals kick in….funeral doom and death metal go together hand in fist. After a decent hammer, a little atmospheric passage divides the carnage from the next heavier passage. I like how they aren’t afraid of their aggressive side but, at the same time, recognize the importance of somber tones. “Ocaso,” is the shortest song at “only” 7 and a half minutes in length. But the “brief” recipe is perfect for dividing the two halves of the album. It’s shorter length is also a good starting point for anyone wanting to see what the album offers, or funeral doom in general. The opening moments are somewhat breezy, with the whispered, clean vocals, and melodic leads.

The funeral doom elements creep in naturally, showcasing a song that is truly expansive, sweeping, and majestic. Those last two words aren’t ones I ever thought I would use to describe a funeral doom song but there you have it. It’s a brave new world. The final song, the appropriately titled “Mass Eulogy” is 100% how I like my funeral doom: sorrow filled, slow, dark, and gargantuan in its approach. The keys are subtle but add just the layer the song needs. I love the death growls over the sparse, ambient, spaces in between the heavier moments. Parts of the song, mostly due to the vocals, are especially gripping and the final half of the song is much more aggressive than a lot of other funeral doom bands are. Chile (and South America in general) has a very strong metal scene, especially with doom or depressive music in general. No two ways about it, MOURNERS LAMENT’s “A Grey Farewell,” is another great album to add to the country's ever growing mountain of metal.