review geklaut bei crucial blast:

The debut full length from Hallowed Butchery is simply astounding, not only because this album somehow manages to combine a myriad of styles as disparate as early 90's industrial, psychedelic freak folk, and avant-garde doom into something that is not only coherent and intensely progressive, but also because this is the product of just one guy. Hallowed Butchery is the solo "doom metal" project of a guy named Ryan Scott Fairfield from Maine, but you would probably never guess that just from hearing the music on Funeral Rites For The Living. The music on this album is so massive-sounding and epic, it's hard to imagine that there isn't a full band behind it. Fairfield has clearly absorbed a LOT of different sounds, which he has then processed back out into the otherworldly prog-doom of Hallowed Butchery. It's hard to call this doom, as there's lots of stuff here that isn't doom metal at all, but the overall vibe with the songs is definitely doomy and morose, with most of the songs imbued with a heavy sense of foreboding regarding the wilderness of Maine and environmentalism in general. Musically, he brings together a mix of styles that at first seems unwieldy; the songs move from stretched out expanses of tense avant-doom a la Khanate, with huge chunks of abstract riffage exploding amongst stretches of near silence, and overseen by some awesome over-the-top death metal growls, to gorgeous psychedelic folk songs that blend together flutes and acoustic guitar and dramatic male singing that definitely reminds me of the dark psych-folk like Comus and Incredible String Band. Sounds like a weird mix of sounds already, right? That's nothing. From there, Funeral Rites travels through massive celestial deathdoom accompanied by angelic chorales that suddenly shifts right back into the dark psych-folk strum without skipping a beat, then kicks into the chugging industrial metal of "Great North Woods", which sounds a little like a more blackened version of some of the newer Mortis material, mixed with some downcast piano playing, weird tribal grunts, and doleful singing, then morphs back into another folky coda at the end. "Back Asswards" is pure black industrial with droning orchestral strings buzzing over a lumbering industrial dirge, and blackened snarls raging over top. On "Kingdom (Within You)", we come back to more acoustic guitar, but here the music is much darker and melancholy, dark drones set against a grim melody, sounding somewhat like Steve Von Till's solo stuff before it dissolves into a cloud of psychedelic noise and mangled cassette-tape noise.
On the flipside, we come to the blackened doom of "The Kennebec", and again the vocals break into that AWESOME, vageuly processed death metal growl, while a sorrowful piano melody plays in the background, and whispered singing comes into view; the song veers back and forth between this calmer dark ambience and the crushing metallic sludge, enhanced by subtle electronic textures during the heavier parts and joined by warped synthesizers at the end. "Abolish The Pulpit" is even slower and heavier, a pummeling blackdoom behemoth layered with samples of ranting televangelists and alien ambience that at times slips into surreal Gnaw Their Tongues-like formlessness, which by the very end of the track disintegrates into an orgy of scraped strings, rattling percussion, vomiting vocals and totally unrecognizeable noises. Oof! "The Kennebec (Reprise)" is another short song, very Comus-like with the weird woodwind sounds and earnest singing, and then the album reaches the final track, a freakin' Neil Young cover of all things. It's a rendition of "After The Gold Rush" that really doesn't feel out of place, considering all of the twists and turns that we've gone through on this album, and it's played pretty straight at first, with just a smattering of effects on the guitar; here Fairfield is joined by a female vocalist, and the harmonized singing is pretty damn sweet. Halfway through though, the guitars suddenly crash in heavy and distorted, turning the song into a glorious gleaming metallic dirge for a moment before returning back to the song proper.
What an odd and amazing album. It's obviously a deeply personal collection of music, all the way down to the short explanations that Fairfield includes with the lyrics to each song, but this guys clearly knows what he's doing here, as each song flows perfectly into the next, and what would probably end up as a messy pastiche of different styles instead becomes a surreal voyage through some intense and crushing prog/doom weirdness. The label mentions Ahab, Comus, Earth, Khanate, and Nortt as reference points for the sounds contained on Funeral Rites For the Living, but that only scratches the surface of what's going on here. Highly recommended for the more adventurous doomanaut. Comes on heavy black vinyl in a thick cardstock jacket and includes a doublesided glossy insert.

metalstorm.ee :


Hallowed Butchery's Funeral Rites For The Living is one of those CD's that mysteriously made its way into my collection without me knowing how or why. I remember someone sent it to me once, a few months back possibly, but I have no recollection of who that someone is or was. It may even have been one of those benign guardian angels, I've heard they are pretty active once again these days.

Anyway, Hallowed Butchery is pretty cool. Mr. Fairfield claims to take influence from bands ranging from Black Sabbath to Johnny Cash and back to Melvins, passing Cocteau Twins and T. Rex along the way. While I'm sure he enjoys all these (great) bands, the end result has more in common of Funeral Doom á la Tyranny blended in with a good deal of Sludge, various hysteric movie samples and the occasional odd part.

Those ill-willed could argue that the album doesn't really have a story to it, that it doesn't really go anywhere. And it is a fact that this album does not contain 'songs', or a musical red thread. In fact, this album is pretty random, but I believe it is random intentionally so. Like a carnival bizarre, sections of groaning angry sludge morph into warm acoustic strumming, while moments later tribal drums and symphonics take over and push the wall of sound sky high, to later dissolve into a Neil Young cover that leaves you with that particular feeling you have after having been drugged up and drugged out for way too long. That is, in a nutshell, this album, and it's musically deranged and innovative structure is what I so greatly appreciate. If you're in for this, all you have to do is sit back and enjoy this grande collage of various extreme and estranging sounds. For some every musical idea that is portrayed is too short-lived, but to me it adds to the schizophrenic nature of the album.

Besides that, the musicianship is top-notch and the impressive atmosphere Mr. Fairfield puts up all by himself is quite a feat. Even the production has been taken care of wonderfully – Hallowed Butchery doesn't settle for half-done work, it seems. Every instrument blends nicely in with the others, nothing tones sound out-of-context or misplaced and when the need is there the sound is downright majestic.

It seems this album has been out for a quite a while, but there hasn't been much attention for it. Quite unfair in my humble opinion - but I have my fingers crossed that the next release (if?) will be as good or better and will stir the waters o' doom with greater force. And I'm pretty damn sure it will.

and a realy good one from lordsofmetal.nl :


Erik: Hallowed Butchery is the brainchild of a certain Ryan Farfield and my gosh, what an earthquake of sonic eruptions can this man produce! In just nine songs he grasps the essence of doom metal that is beyond anything I have heard in years! The fluent song structures, crazy musical ideas, deep philosophical thoughts, heartbroken passion, low tuned guitars and harsh programming in the vein of Ahab, Khanate, Earth and The Ocean are solely his! To top it all, he recorded it at home with the means he found there! He had a bit of help with some female vocals and some photography, but those are his wife’s!

The only person he let in to do the mastering was James Plotkin of O.LD. and Khanate fame. If James is related it does not say. The mentioned bands and plenty, actually thousands of others can learn a bit from this truly D.I.Y. initiative. This is the doom sensation of the summer! Just do not miss it because both the CD and the vinyl version are limited to five hundred copies each. You will thank me (and Ryan naturally) later!

a review from metalreview.com:


I'm listening to this album for the fourth time before I start writing anything about it. It's a Sunday morning (well 3pm), I'm bleary-eyed hungover to hell and I'm moments from seizing up in a pile of my own vomit as “Abolish the Pulpit” comes on. The distorted background cackle quivers through the cracks and plays havoc with my sense of balance and each thudding note is like a shot to the gut from a ten tonne fist. This sounds like a midnight nightmare in the mind of Devin Townsend. Surviving the sickening evangelical samples is hard work and when it all finally implodes into a melt of gargling and synthesized screeching – I'm out.

Don't be put off though, up until today Funeral Rites for the Living was a rich and rewarding experience. Today's vulnerable incapacitation is merely a sentiment to the immersive grip of this debut from Maine's Ryan Scott Fairfield, and his solo project Hallowed Butchery.

Macabre doom marches through riffs cast in fire and brimstone are the lifeline of this record, but don't be surprised to find the roars burning up in the atmosphere around spiritual acoustic passages, tribal flickers, odious moments of discordant nothingness and other layers of undefinable chaos. Fairfield's lyrics are thoughtful and personal, as he explores environmental themes with different shades of mournful singing and damning cries; tackling a hatred for christian extremity with the aforementioned voices of twisted preachers.

The whole situation is never too far from crashing back into the slow motion collisions of crashing cymbals and viciously deep growls, exiting with a particularly unique yet suitable cover of Neil Young's “After the Gold Rush”, honorably amplifying and continuing the subject of a dying earth to Hallowed Butchery proportions.

Whilst the main problem with this album is the proportionality of the section lengths, at thirty minutes long and thirty thoughts deep, Funeral Rites for the Living comes and goes all too fast. Reflection is futile and attention is demanded, as it is only truly in the moment can you appreciate and admire this colossal body of wrath that Fairfield has made and masterminded on his own.

So listen to it in good health.


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ausm ox:

HALLOWED BUTCHERY – 'Funeral Rites For The Living' CD/LP
Na, mal wieder einen Soundtrack für den nächsten Albtraum kaufen? Nimm die. Einerseits „Slow Doom Metal“, bei dem man Slow strichweise mit 6 „O´s“ schreiben müsste, auf der anderen Seite psychedelische Fragmente direkt aus dem Drogensumpf nordamerikanischer Biertrinker. Auch wenn die Platte alles andere als Spaß verbreitet, macht es Laune zuzuhören. Ich persönlich klammere mal die Metal Geschichte aus und sehe es als verdammt dunkle acid-zersetzte Psychedelic mit Sludge Elementen. Die Scheibe ist so intelligent gemacht, dass sie beide Seiten von Zielgruppe bedient. Zum einen die Psych-Hansels, die zwischen Vermonster, F/i oder Acid Mothers Temple ihr zuhause finden, zum anderen Doom-Fans, die auch Earth, Isis oder Sunn O))) hören, eventuell auch mal Hawkwind Maxis auf 33 rpm (Scherz). Klasse Release. Großes Kopfkino. (joachim)

review von doom-metal.com:


Sometimes some unexpected work happens to land in your hands. An artistic work that transcends genres, fills your spirit, captivates your senses. Something new and profound. 'Funeral Rites for the Living' is a work of this kind, Dictator's 'Dysangelist' is another that had a similar effect on me a few months ago. Two one man bands; originality can hardly be shared, you have to be the only boss aboard to display that radical force of conviction. It is a too personal vision.

Here, it is the one of Ryan Fairfield who offers the listener his first accomplished album. A strange album, which draws its twisted meanders from sources as diverse as Funeral Doom, Folk, Indus, Sludge, Pop... While listening to 'Funeral Rites for the Living', half a dozen artists comes to mind, according to each one's own musical culture: Until Death Overtakes Me, Of the Wand and the Moon, Peccatum, Neil Young (the last track is a cover of the artist), When, Skinny Puppy among others.

The tools are chosen for their narrative relevance: what must be expressed? Which instrument will best serve the emotion that must be instilled? Some Pop music lines, some gloomy Funeral Doom, some Sludgy filth give way to thundering industrial modulations, melodic flute, hypnotic atonal litany, moody acoustic guitar; pagan dance goes along with cosmic ode, soft Folk with meditative drones.
Hallowed Butchery's music is primarily melodramatic, at the service of an environmental message, it proclaims love of nature and roars against the devastating human enterprises. Not in a childish way. I think that point is important: if the lyrics had been of another kind, if the themes had been different, the music wouldn't have been shaped that way. At all.

One could criticize the artist's bulimia, it could be argued that playing with sounds that, at first glance, seem incompatible can only lead to failure, like building a castle doomed to simultaneously collapse. Wrong! The cement is inspiration, the intelligence of the songwriting: each track is the product of an outstanding know-how; never it appears like a collection of disparate moments put together, on the contrary, it is more like a thought in progress, the radiography of its metamorphosis, they are tortuous, but they always lead somewhere.

Beyond the richness of the inspiration, it must be stressed how huge the sound really is; the production has given the music of Hallowed Butchery a prophetic and almost apocalyptic dimension it needed. 'FRftL' also owes to the great mastering job the fact that it definitively looks more like an album that speaks its own language (be it considered inconsistent or not) than like a disorganized and compulsive note-book.

Forget your a priori. This album (that is too short and this will be my only regret) is for those who can see beyond appearances, to those willing to immerse themselves in an atypical universe. Life is not a dogma; music can not be reduced to formulas. Hallowed Butchery proves it with brilliance.

collective-zine.co.uk :

Though this one-man project ostensibly falls within doom's murky sphere it manages to cut through a variety of subterranean genres with a cold blade, effectively providing a cross section of all things dour and gloomy. The first thing you'll notice are the trudging atonal riffs and unearthly rasps, but closer inspection reveals wisps of industrial static, droning melancholy and vague traces of forgotten folk, suggesting that while a debt may well be owed to the likes of Burning Witch and Thergothon, the album's creator is also more than au fait with the further-flung territory mapped out by the likes of Gnaw Their Tongues, Coil and Nadja. Whichever dim-lit path it's treading "Funeral Rites For The Living" is skillful and engrossing, and it's only the occasional dip in quality or judgement (see, for example, the faithful if puzzling Neil Young cover that closes the album) that prevents this release from labouring alongside the very best of them.