Doom metal has always been a genre that gives people acceptance to embrace the darkest parts of existence and wallow in their anguish, in such a way that allows them to come to terms with their demons. Norwegian-based Funeral, and founding member Anders Eek, have been a driving force for doom metal fans for over 30 years.
Now, in what is the most comprehensive album to date, Funeral are releasing Gospel Of Bones, a melancholic memoir for Eek that expertly draws beauty out of his harrowed past. Pain and loss are not just an interpretation into the theme of darkness for Eek; they have been a horribly integral part of his career that he has had to overcome.
Can you share some insight into the background of the album? What fed into the lyrical expression we hear from it, and what drove you to write in the first place?
You have to write about something, right? This time I wrote about the deaths of two of my previous band members and a third very good friend of mine that I lost within six or seven years, from 1999 to 2006. Basically, the whole album is about that experience dealing with those deaths and the process I went through, both emotionally and mentally. So I tried to put those feelings into words, and of course, it had to fit with the instrumentation as well.
I wanted it to sound like you are in a real funeral. The English lyrics are nonlinear; it’s not a concept, but there are linear Norwegian lyrics. All the songs have small Norwegian verses that sort of binds the whole album into a Norwegian story and it ends with an Norwegian song called “Når Kisten Senkes” which translates to, ‘when the coffin lowers.’ That’s the end of the album. So it was really, really personal stuff.
You say how you felt as though you were exhausted from carrying the weight of the band on your shoulders after severe hardships. What was the driving force that kept you going?
I had a hiatus in around 2002, 2003 because I didn’t know if I really had both the guts and the driving force to continue. So I played in some other bands for a year. Then, the passion for doom metal hit me again and I just started to write on my own. Before that, we used to write together, but when I lost everyone, I had to do everything myself. So I really had to dig to get energy and motivation and, of course, creativity to continue this sort of dark ride in a way, because it is a dark ride.
The lyrics aren’t fantasy darkness. It’s real darkness. There’s definitely no bullshit here; it’s real deaths that I’m singing about and writing about. So I think that sort of resonance in the album, both lyrically and musically, it’s the real deal.
How did you come to bring all the new members together, including your new singer Eirik Krokfjord, your Violinist Ingvild Johannessen for this project, and all the featured musicians? Did you seek them out or did it happen more serendipitously?
Of course I need musicians in the band to play my music in a proper way, so that’s a bit of a drag here in Norway because it’s a small country and there aren’t that many musicians both into doom metal and that are as motivated as myself.
I could start with Eirik, the singer. I was at a classical concert watching Carmina Burana and Eirik was in the main role. I think that was about three years ago. We had just lost Sindra, the previous singer, and since I was looking for a singer, when I saw this guy and heard him, I was blown away. I didn’t know anything about him, but I told my friend of mine who is an organist, and she actually knew him. So she got in touch with him and hooked up in a meeting, then he basically said yes right away. It turned out that he was a metal fan as well and had actually sung in another metal band 10 or 15 years ago. It was much made in heaven, so to speak.
Regarding Ingrid, the violinist, I knew that she played some violin in other bands like Vojknagar, Ramsett, Trollfest, and so on. I think I first asked her to play some of the strings that we sort of programmed, you know, to get it played acoustically. She also said yes right away and was a fan of the band, so over time, I invited her to join the lineup.
Gospel of Bones has come to be your most dynamic release to date. Walk me through the decisions that led to taking the music in a such different direction than what we’ve seen with past albums.
It’s been a sort of dream of mine to mix classical or operatic music with metal in that sort of way. I didn’t have a specific vocal style in mind. I just really wanted low baritone vocals on this. It took much more time than usual recording the album because of the orchestration. In the past we have used programmed orchestration but with this, all the strings are played acoustically, and I think on several parts, there are, like, 30 instruments. I think it took about six months recording only the orchestration.
Ingvild Johannessen plays all the violin as well as the cello and double bass. Other instruments are the ’70’s Moog synth, piano, acoustic flutes, and a traditional Scandinavian instrument from the Viking age called the Harding Fiddle. I think in the 13th or 14th century, they found the first Harding Fiddle, and it’s a very common instrument in Norway for folk music. We also used a really old acoustic guitar on a couple of tracks made here in Oslo in 1860. I had a lot of fun working with those instruments to get the soul from those instruments of the record; what you hear on the record, you will hear live.
How long were you working on this album before you decided it was ready to be released to the public?
You know, I worked really hard for those couple years during lockdown. I wrote about 20 songs, and eight of them are on the album. I write all the time, but during COVID, I really had a lot of time, so I used that very wisely. I’m not a people person, so being able to sit in my home studio for 10, 12, 14 hours a day for months and months was very creative, and I made a lot of music.
I also had the opportunity to be really picky on what songs to be released on the album. It was quite a long process in itself to pick out the songs that suited Eric’s vocals specifically.
Do you think this album means a fresh start for the group?
You’re going to see a lot more of this to come and have already picked up 11 new tracks for the next album. We have just started working on the orchestration and the vocal lines and stuff from that. When I write, I like to come up with new ideas and be innovative without losing the soul in the band and in the sound, so to speak. Just to get my mind, not sort of rewriting older albums, but trying to do something else within the frames of the band. It’s just the natural progression as an artist too, I think. I’ve been doing this for, like, 35 years now, you kind of have to grow and evolve.
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