Empty - The House of Funeral Hymns (2009)

Perhaps it's just my 'inner goth' speaking, but there is something about a haunted house or funeral home which transfixes me, especially on an album cover bathed in moonlight. Fortunately, Empty has a lot more to offer than just cover art, and The House of Funeral Hymns is a solid album of driving, pure black metal with a great mix to boot.

The style here really drew my ears back to the mid 90s Norwegian scene, albums like In the Nightside Eclipse or The Shadowthrone. Empty weaves a lot of atmosphere into their compositions, whether it is through clean, distant crooning vocals, or semi-symphonic keyboards. But the crisp, full guitar tones on this record are its true strength, and through their careful conjuring the band creates a mesmerizing lull. "The Sense of No Being" is a ponderous nine minutes dominated by its sad, slower guitar lines and immersive howlscapes. "How Far I Am From All" cautiously escalates from subtle tones into a glorious charge of jangling black melodies. The title track opens with a familiar, descending acoustic guitar, accompanied by distant, harsh whispers and tranquil bass. The vocals do get a little silly, King Diamond silly, but the track is still tempting. Another strong track is the alluring "In the Somber Solitude" with its memorable, melodic hooks.

The House of Funeral Hymns sounds far more professional than most other grim/black metal albums, without catapulting the band into Cradle of Filth-like studio gloss. Simply a superb mix, great for your car speakers while driving at night down an empty highway or through an abandoned neighborhood. Empty isn't a perfect band and this is not a perfect record, there are a few moments where I was unable to focus my attention due to some occasionally mediocre riffing. Taken as a whole, it's a strong effort which should satisfy fans of the 'majestic' black metal fo the 90s, when it was all about castles and woodlands and suffering. Today, it's mostly just the suffering.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

http://www.emptyhorde.com/