Yes it’s true; you can tell all your friends that these welsh boys are back, heavier and darker than ever. It’s almost a sigh of relief to hear that Funeral have come back and triumphed, with their best album release since their debut ‘Casually Dressed & Deep in Conversation’.
Funeral for a Friend are one of those bands you have utmost respect for, they’ve always been the harmless mid-day festival filler you watch and have a sing along to. It’s been in recent years though that FFAF have needed a change in direction, where it was obvious that fans were lusting after old material and heavier riffs to keep them involved. So when a host of smaller and very intimate shows were announced instead of their usual string of O2 academy dates it was obvious things were about to change.
So bring forward ‘Conduit’. If you’re a die-hard Funeral fan then my god you’re in for one hell of a treat. From the word go this album is something you can really get excited about. The band are back to their head banging best, with opening track ‘Spine’ setting the tone, followed by album titled track ‘Conduit’ showcasing unrestrained drum beats from former Rise to Remain drummer Pat Lundy.
It’s tracks like ‘The Distance’ and ‘Best Friends and Hospital Beds’ that will be this years sing-along festival anthems. With catchy hooks and screaming in all the right places, you can feel the mud on your boots already. It seems that the re-jigging of the bands line up has only done wonders for their musical direction, where there’s a power and drive that has been missing in recent years. In fact you won’t find a dull note anywhere, even the closing track ‘High Castles’ is upbeat and filled with rigorous guitar riffs that make it hard to find any sort of flaw.
30-minutes of tightly wound tracks that prove FFAF are back sounding fiercer and darker than ever before. Welcome back boys, we’ve missed you.
