Funeral Throne’s No Light at the End of the Tunnel is the agonised scream of a broken and tortured soul. I mean, I could just leave this review as that and I’d be convinced I’d nailed it, but as that would be one of the shortest reviews I’ve ever written, I suppose I ought to elaborate. There is not one single second of No Light at the End of the Tunnel that doesn’t lay bare the exposed nerves that fuel this record.

The opening track, You Truly Make Me Hate, has a soft and dreamlike quality to it, with some fantastic guitar work from Jeferson “Corpsethrone” Chavez (who also doubles up as the thunder when the drums kick in), but even this moment of tranquility is dripping in melancholy, and there is an unspoken deep hatred that lurks just under the surface, out of reach. It doesn’t remain that way for very long, however, as when Tristesse takes control, and Chavez is joined by Casey “Castula” Hood on bass and Josaphine “Serpentyra” Hendricks on vocals, the true face of Funeral Throne forces it way into the light and it is twisted and contorted with so much fucking pain that you almost want to look away. But you don’t, because you can’t.

I’ve listened to many, many black metal vocalists over the years, but there is something about Josaphine “Serpentyra” Hendricks that left my jaw on the floor. Every single utterance from Serpentyra’s throat is one of utter agony, of rage and disgust, of anguish and bitter distaste for the human race, and you can feel ever single scream and gutteral roar from Serpentyra’s lips seep deep into your bones. Every moment, every dark and twisted note, every repulsed howl of No Light at the End of the Tunnel makes you feel as if you are drowning, as if you are trying to fight your way to the surface, but to no avail.

I’m not going to lie here, this isn’t the easiest EP to listen to, but surely that’s the point? When has it ever been easy, or comfortable, or pleasant to watch a human being – or in this case three – fall to pieces? No, Funeral Throne’s No Light at the End of the Tunnel isn’t your standard black or extreme metal offering, if there is such a thing. What it is, is a primal roar in the face of the world and, as I said at the beginning, Funeral Throne’s No Light at the End of the Tunnel is the agonised scream of a broken and tortured soul.

You can get Funeral Throne’s No Light at the End of the Tunnel over on their Bandcamp page, and I highly recommend that you do.