Krief de Soli - "Munus Solitudinis" ...

It has been two years since Krief de Soli released their début album 'Procul Este, Profani which was a solid release that held great potential for the future. This new album is again released on the very good Endless Winter Records label but if anyone is looking for the big progression album, you may be disappointed. This new album follows the same formula that was set on their début.....long funeral/death doom pieces with a crippling atmosphere and Latin lyrics. While the first album had three songs, this new one has five for a total playing time of almost 70 minutes. Four of the five tracks are 14 minutes or longer, the longest being the opening track 'Náscentés Morimúr' that plods and drags along for a painful 21 minutes. The length of these doom epics are what makes or breaks the album depending on your patience threshold but there is also one other questionable element and that is the overwhelming use of keyboards which get a bit too much to take at times.

While this album isn't really much different from the first album, there are signs of a more mature approach to songwriting. The band is mainly the work of one man Egregoir De Sang and it seems on the surface at least that he is becoming a very ambitious writer within the funeral doom genre but in terms of the instrumentation, not much has changed at all in the last couple of years. The songs are mostly based around long, depressive keyboard arrangements that while are atmospheric, do tend to overshadowed everything else on the album. The epic tracks here are a bit hit or miss and sometimes the opening 21 minute track is all you really need to hear as nothing much changes for the next 50 or so minutes of the release. At its best it is a good take on the formula created by bands such as Skepticism but at its worst, it can be a tedious, long-winded journey of monotonous funeral doom. Funeral doom of course is not the most diverse or exciting brand of doom metal and this project is certainly more advanced than a lot of others bands I could mention but like the first album, you get the feeling something is missing.

The album is ritualistic and tries awfully hard at being hypnotic but without ever getting there. The length of the songs are really the main problem as they don't have enough twists and turns to keep them interesting. Also like 'Procul Este, Profani' the album has a budget kind of vibe about it. It is not that the production is weak, it is actually pretty good but the songs themselves seem like more of a tribute to other funeral doom bands and lack any identity of their own. The lack of originality aside, the pieces have their moments of crushing, atmospheric brilliance but they do tend to be just moments and nothing more. By funeral doom standards Krief de Soli are very slowly progressing to something special but it still seems to be a couple of albums off if this is anything to go by. Compared to the début, this album is more grandiose but it is also a bit harder to absorb so it requires some dedication from the listener. Still funeral doom fans should find it more than listenable but don't expect anything groundbreaking and make sure you are comfortable because this album goes on and on and on.....6/10.

Words: Jack Sabbath.

Krief de Soli | MySpace