Rose Funeral 

Crucify Kill Rot

Candlelight Records 2007

Monster breakdowns, melodic riffing, and dueling vocals characterize Cincinnati's death metal upstarts Rose Funeral.  Subtle melodies drive Sledgehammer Face-Lift and it calls to mind a style somewhere between Gothenburg death metal and perhaps a little Black Dahlia Murder.  The two instrumentals Intereo Diu and Dawning the Resurrection add a nice bit of atmosphere to an album that on the surface is quite brutal.  I think they might have been a little more effective had they not been back-to-back.  At times Rose Funeral reminds me a little of Immolation before the melodic hooks surface.  A good example of this is State of Decay which also features some mammoth metalcore breakdowns which I am sure would appeal to fans of Suicide Silence and their ilk.  Under a Godless Sky charges full speed out of the gates with a melodic main riff which calls to mind Slaughter of the Soul era At the Gates.  Typical, uncompromising death metal a la Cannibal Corpse is the strongest feature of External Regret.  As for the production on Crucify Kill Rot, I hate what they have done with the snare drum.  It is very sharp and almost sounds like a typewriter especially during periods of high speed drumming such as at the end of The Well.  Lyrically Crucify Kill Rot is a scathing attack on Xtianity and I like the concept of the black metal versus death metal vocals that alternate throughout Crucify Kill Rot's duration.  In the end though I am fairly unimpressed by Rose Funeral.  They have some interesting ideas but by the record's end I am left feeling like I have heard it pretty much all before.  I am sure though they will find their own niche somewhere between the metal community and fans of metalcore bands as they attack their music with brutal efficiency of Cannibal Corpse and the melodic catchiness of the Gothenburg inspired bands like Unearth and Darkest Hour which are sweeping the hardcore scene right now.