Ah… Funeral Doom. I must confess I have already put this genre in dark recesses of my memory. Once my favourite, in a last few years it has, sadly, become stale with not too much going on. Then I got this for review and thought, maybe this record can change a few sceptic minds like mine. Let’s see. LONGING FOR DAWN is a Funeral Doom band with ambient touches and a strong atmosphere. They come from Canada, consisting of five members, of which three played in the Black Metal band VENEFICIUM. “Between Elation And Despair” is a record that has all the elements required of good Funeral Doom. It envelopes almost the whole spectrum of emotions that fans usually look for in this genre – it is romantic and full of pain, it is harsh and ambient and, of course, slow and crushing. When I say slow I mean snail-paced dark tonic for the crestfallen among us. When I say crushing I am referring to the emotion of a death and decay of soul that stays with the listener throughout the album and long after. Not so heavy on the guitar part, it is heavy on the amount of desolation it carries. Desperate death growls, epic riffs and mournful lead guitar are definitely high points here. The lead guitar sound is similar to the one used by the band THE ETHEREAL – it is otherwordly, totally alien, wailing and heavy with inhuman sadness. I am not sure if this will save the genre but if you need a slowdown and something reflective in your Metal world, this dark offering is surely one to turn to. For the dark and lonely. www.myspace.com/longingfordawn