From its first vicious bass snarls, bestial wails and tortured cries, Funerary Call’s The Mirror Reversed, Part 1 establishes its intent to make you uncomfortable, then spends 45 minutes or so showing you how. While Funerary Call certainly does the dark/black ambient thing right, I found myself getting a bit bored with it after a while. It’s dense and heavy and grim, and the artist modulates those sensations well enough, but it never seems to do much or go anywhere. From a genre standpoint, it does its job; it makes you uneasy and creates a big, dark world of sound. But nothing really stands out or tries to makes it more interesting than other dark ambient releases I’ve heard.

Those who like this genre may find more to enjoy. For me, it’s a pass.

Available from Cyclic Law.