Requiem by Vanessa Funke

A one-woman multi-instrumentalist out of Germany, Vanessa Funke
can never be criticized for a lack of work ethic. Tirelessly creating, she enters her newest release cycle hot off her well-received LP Void from last year and a punchy split with fellow RABM progger Tachanka released in February. But where those release were characterized by a playful blend of gothic textures with classic Insomnium-esque melodeath, her new LP Requiem offers a turn into much darker waters.

Fueled by her own experience with depressive spirals and dysphoria she pours out her whole heart in an effort to craft her most emotionally urgent work yet. Replacing the textures of melodeath with a
renewed focus on funeral doom and atmospheric black metal, Vanessa has arrived somewhere far closer to the eerie works of Darkher or None than modern Amorphis. Down-tempo riffs, plaintive synthesizers, and elongated melodies blend seamlessly together to lead you along an 8 track musical voyage as harrowing as the artist’s own emotional journey.

Though present in the fringes of past releases, the underlying sorrow underpinning Vanessa’s music now sits front & center in the milieu of her eclectic sound. Recorded in just a few days but only finally compiled and produced after two years of hard work, this record in many ways offers a new and crucial touchstone in understanding Vanessa’s work. As a trans woman working in a scene and a world that seems increasingly hostile to her very existence, Requiem offers a point of solace, and a station of grief where the listener can sit and reflect on the emotional toll which accompanies those among us who society targets. The last tortured screams of 10 minute epic “Gone” demonstrate the true depths of Vanessa’s own troubled soul, plumbed in a desperate attempt to give shape and meaning to the pain and grief that life inflicts on us all. It is an uncompromising listen, but also a beautiful reflection on the value of art to those oppressed.

Presented on a variety of formats, this is the definitive Vanessa experience, and a must-listen for fans of emotionally resonant metal music.

Melodic Death Metal with Gothic & Black Metal elements