Band:	Mournful Congregation / Stabat Mater
Album:	A Slow March To The Burial / Gates
Style:	Funeral doom metal
Release date:	2004

Mournful Congregation
01. A Slow March To The Burial

Stabat Mater
02. Gates

To tell the truth, it's always a pleasant surprise for me and for the funeral doom metal audience as well i suppose when renowned names of the scene make their unholy allegiances and walk side by side on the battlefield of funeral doom. This time the chosen ones were Mournful Congregation and Stabat Mater and i can assure you that the hand of doom have blessed this split release in the most appropriate way.

The first song of this split release is Mournful Congregation's "A Slow March To The Burial" and believe me, this composition is exactly what the title represents, the song works out as a funeral march. It's slow, heavy, mourning, desperate and it is an ode to the final farewell for the dead. The guitar riffing is heavily distorted and really slow, the drumming has what else but an accompanying role and the vocals sound so eerie as if they were coming from the depths of a cave, haunting the listener! A real mourning song for all these wailing moments of your life.

The second song, Stabat Mater's "Gates", is definitely more upbeat than "A Slow March To The Burial", as far as upbeat a funeral doom composition can get, which means it's still slow yet not so extremely... funeral! It seems that the "slow march to the burial" started reaching its final destination and the cemetary "Gates" stand proud and imposing in the distance. The tomb-stones are shivering to the ultra heavy sound of the guitars and someone can notice in the background some creative guitar passages here and there, actually they seem to be solos that lie behind the funereal guitar riffing and it is quite a wonderful addition! The vocals sound unearthly and they move in deep grunting soundscapes, pacing with the overall atmosphere and feeling wonderfully, whereas the rhythm section, as you guessed correctly, is slow and plays only an accompanying role, without failing though to lend an imposing and powerful feeling to the songs, which means that its interpretation is succesful for funeral doom.

The fans of the band should check this split release for sure because you always know what to expect from bands like Mournful Congregation and Stabat Mater, quality and funeral (doom).