Of Darkness
Death (Demo) 2004 None
This has to be one of the most promising funeral doom bands I've heard in a very long time. 'Death' is their first demo out, but will hopefully not be their last release. Even though the opening track alone is 33 minutes long, 2 tracks just isn't enough of this music. In fact I'd gladly sit through 4 stuffed CD's of this without ever tiring of it. Of Darkness takes the doom/death approach to funeral doom, just like Thergothon and many other funeral bands have done before. But few of the earlier ones come close to the slowness and heaviness found on this track. The "no more than one beat per 3 seconds" philosophy does indeed work miracles on music like this. But more important than the speed is the loud guitars and vague ghastly synth which linger on top of the music. In addition to this there are a few minor black metal elements, just to push the bleakness into perfection. Dark ambient interludes come in from time to time with beast-like growls on feedback, screams, shrieks and other quite spine-chilling industrial noises. Now I mention the growls, I have heard few with such a majestic growl. It's like hearing the voice of an ancient evil deity. The fact that their propaganda can be summarized in this one sentence: "What can be dead, should be dead", doesn't make the music any less sinister. Every time I hear music like this I get in the mood for a really good horror movie. But there is a problem. Few horror movies have the soul sodomizing abilities that this kind of music has. In fact the gruesome sights that the music puts in your mind are far more intense than what you can ever put in a movie. In fact I don't think you can depict anything this hideous outside the unlimited bounds of our minds abyss. It is only so often that an underground comes along that band creates music that is this breathtaking. If you are a fan of Winter, Stabat Mater or Wormphlegm, seek out a copy of this one. If you have to get down on your knees and beg, then so be it. It is worth it...	1. Death 2. Of Darkness Approx. 49 minutes
Reviewed by: Arnstein H. Pettersen
The Empty Eye (CD) 2007 Xtreem Music
Many times when you begin listening to a very long song (like Sleep’s ’Jerusalem’) it is hard to get into, mostly due to the sheer length and (often) your lack of time. Of Darkness has given us a long song. This single-track CD is one 54 minute long chunk of excruciatingly dark funeral doom. Rather than getting off to a slow start and building on it, Of Darkness pulls you right into an atmosphere so bleak and depressing that it is almost painful. This atmosphere persists throughout the song, dragging on and on; this horrid, incessant slab of doom will crush you if you are not in the right state of mind. I cannot stress how noisy and terrible this song is. However, this is what makes it great. When listening to funeral doom, I want to be deep in thoughts of despair and loneliness. Of Darkness delivers me these thoughts. I must also write, though, that if you are new to funeral doom (or doom in general), do not listen to this song. If you are not familiar with funeral doom, then it will be hard for you to listen to this song for more than two minutes anyway. This song has moments that sound like an actual funeral, complete with organ and a very low voice reciting what sounds like a eulogy for a demon. This Spanish two-piece has given us a song that will inspire terror or confusion in the listener and cause one to reconsider if he/she should continue listening to music at all. Is this a good thing? Yes. Fans of Skepticism, Thergothon, Nortt, and Wormphlegm need to give this song a listen, and this band their support.	1. The Empty Eye    I - Congregate    II - Like Rats    III - Ontlogy and Beyond    IV - Absence / Disappearance    V - Of Dying    VI - The Eyeless    VII - Gone Approx. 54 minutes
Reviewed by: Cody Liebetreu