Band: Rose Funeral
Title: Gates Of Punishment
Label: Metal Blade Records
Distribution: Rough Trade Benelux.
Release date: September 26th 2011
Review: CD

Rose Funeral were formed five years ago in Cincinnati, Ohio, US’ey and with an EP and full length (resp. Crucify.Kill.Rot, re-released through Siege Of Amida as well in mean time) and The Resting Sonata) in mind, the band’s popularity grew enormously in the most northern countries from the American continent. The band did play live whole the time across Canada, the US and Mexico (supporting bands like Immolation and Nile), but luckily they (Ryan Gardner-v,g; Julian Kersey-b; and Kevin Snook-g; as current (permanent) members) found some time to write, and finally to record, new material. The sophomore Metal Blade-recording is surely to open new opportunities and I’m sure Europe will follow the New World’s joy on Rose Funeral’s merciless musical crusade.
Gates Of Punishment lasts for three quarters of an hour and it certainly is the most firm and complete / concrete (yeah, let’s make some publicity for our .be-effort again) recording to date. Like in the past, this album contains all needful elements typifying the USDM-scene and more than once, therefore, it sounds like I did hear it before, more than once again. No, don’t worry, Rose Funeral are not a horde of cheap copycats, even though ninety percent of the time lacks of any authenticity. And on top of this, I cannot ignore Rose Funeral’s professionalism and skilled craftsmanship. In spite of lacking originality, they do sound as stronger, and from time even more impressive, than many of their (currently sometimes over-hyped) predecessors. The other ten percent shows the initialisation of a new face (in the past it wasn’t but five percent ;o) with some surprising loops or melodies, elements from progressive Thrash-side or atmospherical darkened grimness, and of a rather ear-pleasing kind.
Ear-pleasing, well, it must be a masochistically confusing terminology to avoid using phrases like ‘head-banging until neck-breaking’ or ‘broke my neck after banging my head… on Rose Funeral’s Gates Of Punishment’… of course…

84/100

Ivan Tibos.