Funeral Diner - Underdark (2005)

Funeral Diner has been played on my iPod daily for at least two weeks now. I'll have the iPod shuffling, walking along on the freezing cold streets of winter new york, and a Funeral Diner song will come on, and I have to switch the shuffle to 'off' so I can listen to the whole album. Funeral Diners sound is interesting to describe, as they seem to have mastered a few disparate genres and not only fuse them together, but do so with a grace this is often not associated hardcore. At least one member was present in the mid 90's band Portraits of Past. Their brand of screamy hardcore was at once controlled and chaotic, fusing slow builds and long passages with frantic bursts of punk fury. So whether through influence or the idea to pursue a similar approach, Funeral Diner shares much in common with its hardcore past. But as the musicians reworked and reformed they clearly stumbled upon a formula that work really well. By fleshing out the dynamincs of many of the slow burning pieces they've also added much tension and drama to their furious crescendos, all while maintaing a strict adherence to their hardcore roots. Which means the lyrics are still dark and introspective, screamy and tortured in fashion. The music is both pummeling and serene, finding many pathways to lead the way through many moods and motifs before dumping another ton of bricks on you with fierce breaks and deep riffs that bring to mind Isis and Mouth of the Architect. The drummer is powerful and keeps everything new and fresh with each subtle change. This release has definitely put the band in a new beginning and sees them coming up as a peer to the whole post-rock/ metal school of thought. And certainly one with a lot of credibility and a lot of potential. The Underdark was released on Alone Records and are going to be touring Japan in March. They also have a website that catalogs their many releases...Funeral Diner dot Com.