I missed out a few times I had a chance to check Eye of Solitude works before. If any of them are like the Obsequis portion of the split Eye of Solitude is turning out now on Kaotoxin alongside Faal, it is my loss I did not lend a listening ear to this UK collective before.

Obsequis opens up with a pronounced and growing, as if from a distance, melody played on the streets of Kiev, when there was a funeral going on. And I suspect many of Soviet, and generally speaking Eastern European, cities heard these sounds. As I explained once or twice on these pages, funerals were often public affairs back home, not the neat catafalque-led, quiet private processions they are here in the States. Growing up I lived in a large apartment building, so many times returning from school in the middle of a day I remember seeing open casket standing on stools, people grieving, orchestra playing, right in front of one of the many entryways to that building. Obsequies has that melody, and nothing kills the positive buzz of a beautiful warm sunny October morning but replaying my childhood dark memories and fears. From there Eye of Solitude continues with what is basically a static frozen harmony, resting on layered reverbing guitars. Classic piano and violin break only add to the feeling of the deepest mourning, before guitars, sparse vocals and monumental drum rolls return. Obsequis is just unbelievably sad, Tchaikovsky’s Doll Funeral feeling completely captured, which in my book is pre-requisite to funeral doom qualification.

Dutch Faal does nothing to lift the mood. Understandable, otherwise it wouldn’t be on the split with Eye of Solitude. Yet Faal’s Shattered Hope is more along the lines of the eerie and creepy, exploding into more forceful deathdoom around 2-3 min with vibrating tremolos. Faal projects the feeling of gloom with slightly detuned strings, and the glacial serenity is trying to set repeatedly, only to go for one final crescendo in the end.

Two strong doomy pieces on one split, only Eye of Solitude melodies are absolutely hand wringing killers, and they propel the release to further heights. It looks like I have some catching up to do with this crew.