Doom-Metal.com: ReviewsHallelujah! There are still labels that have the guts to release extreme, uncompromising doom. Weird Truth Productions proved to be such a label by releasing practically the whole Mournful Congregation material since 1993 on two discs. The Australian Mournful Congregation combines the mournful 'feel' of early MDB with the self-willed, dissonant and bleak nihilism of Thergothon. Slow, endlessly drifting twin guitar
(dys)harmonies, pounding drums and an impressively deep, yet surprisingly well-articulated grunt seem to be involved in a game without rules, meaning or purpose. Here it is where the terms 'song structure' and 'order' lose their significance. Monotonous, agonizing slow, disillusioned and hopeless, this music seems to have lost the will to ease the pain in the heart of the listener. The occasional clean guitar intermezzi fail to change this desolate picture. In contrary, their repetitive, dissonant themes add even more pain making the experience almost unbearable. This is food for the doom freaks, those who know what suffering means and who at the same time have lost interest in the 'beauty' of lush symphonic arrangements, angelic female vocals and bittersweet melodies. The pain is deep and heart-felt, but there is no will left to protest against this inhuman torture. Apathy, emptiness and solitude are all that remain. The tracks that stick out, are the colossal Fading Light Of A Dying Sun, Astralic Dreams, Suffer The Storms, The Epitome Of Gods And Men Alike and An Epic Dream Of Desire. Especially that last track drains every joy of the listener's soul with its heart shredding guitar harmonies, the whispered vocals which sound like a last goodbye to a deceased dear friend, its epic length of 15 minutes and its moving lyrics:
"We look to the clouds for they form epic pictures,
The earth stands still, the air is silent.
We all dream together, yet we are all alone.
The clouds hold the answers, yet still we search"
We gather netherlands and together with the Mournful Congregation we continue our search hoping to find a meaning someday.
Reviewed by: Kostas Panagiotou
Reviewed by Mike Cartmell - 25/08/2002 for Sonicdeath.co.uk
Obscure, depressing, emotional, slow, heavy and epic Doom Metal claims the homepage of Australia's Mournful Congregation. I was introduced to this band's music a couple of months ago and can confirm that they do indeed play very extreme 'funeral' Doom Metal in the vein of Skepticism, Thergothon and others. The Dawning Of Mournful Hymns is the first full length release from Mournful Congregation, containing fully mastered versions of all their recordings from 1993-2001, which in total last for over 2 hours. I was in for a treat...
If you're not familiar with funeral Doom Metal, imagine what My Dying Bride or another death/doom band would sound like if they were much, much slower. Extreme slowness and heaviness is the essence of funeral doom and Mournful Congregation are certainly no exception; I thought I was nearing the end of the album when I got up to start reviewing it, though it turned out I was only actually on track 4, which perhaps gives you an idea of the speed. However, there's more to doom than simply being slow, of course. The vocals range from guttural, death-like growls to clean whispered/ spoken parts and although the guitar riffs are often slow and basic (which are by no means easy to play at this pace), they add to the depressive feel. Besides, the mood is important here and this is surely some of the most sorrowful, gloomy, despair ridden music ever created. The Dawning Of Mournful Hymns could easily have been the third album that Thergothon never made, it's that good. What's better is that the production on this far surpasses that of the Thergothon releases, maybe surprisingly considering the material came mostly from old demos. In a few years, this could well be regarded as a classic and I wouldn't disagree. I just hope it's not long before we hear more from Mournful Congregation. As for individual tracks, Tears From A Grieving Heart and Suffer The Storms are probably my 'favourites', though I can't imagine ever wanting to listen to them on their own. Obviously, a genre as extreme as funeral Doom isn't going to appeal to everyone, but this album is one of the finest examples I've ever heard. It's difficult to recommend this style of music because of its nature. You wouldn't introduce a friend to Mournful Congregation by inviting them to listen to a few seconds with your headphones, not least because they would only hear a few chords but also because it seems strange to recommend such miserable, depressive music. Personally, I find it quite relaxing. Lie down, turn off the lights and listen to this for a couple of hours, perhaps you'll see what I mean.
Reviewed by Michelle Phillipov for dB Magazine, issue #288, 25 September - 8 October 2002.
Mournful Congregation
The Dawning Of Mournful Hymns
Weird Truth Productions
Mournful Congregation is an Adelaide based, recording-only project that incorporates members of Stargazer, Chalice and Martire. With 14 tracks sprawled over two CDs and spanning over two hours of music, The Dawning Of Mournful Hymns is an epic release, comprising songs of absolutely depressing, devastatingly heavy extreme doom. Recorded between 1994 and 2000, much of this material has been previously available in the form of short-run (and now quite hard-to-find) demos.
The first CD represents their earlier material, comprising songs written between 1994 and 1995, opening with the epic Fading Light Of A Dying Sun. Achingly slow, but crushingly heavy, Fading Light Of A Dying Sun is effective in its simplicity, setting the tone for the rest of the CD. Heads Bowed, with its gloomily melodic guitars, minimalist drumming and huge bottomless vocal sound is another highlight, while Weeping and Miriam are two calming, gentle instrumentals that work to break up the oppressive gloom of the majority of the other tracks.
Six of the seven tracks on CD 2 were recorded during 1997-1998. The songs of this period are at times beautifully delicate, and at others painfully obscure (especially Opal Of The Stream Beneath The Hills).
Re-Memberance Of The Transcending Moon is one of the particularly good tracks from this group, its unsettling whispering and inhuman growls complementing the softly bludgeoning instrumentation. The final track is The Epitome Of Gods And Men Alike, recorded in 2000, and is most indicative of Mournful Congregation's present direction (they should be entering the studio again this year to record the next full length). While it is perhaps less extreme than many of the other tracks, it is also also more dramatic and intense due to its greater extravagance and texture; more majestic sorrow than pure depression. The expansive soundscapes of The Dawning Of Mournful Hymns are bleak, ominous and leaden. It is a release that is as agonising as it is breathtaking.
Reviewed by Pim for Quintessence.sh
Mournful Congregation
The Dawning of Mournful Hymns
Weird Truth Productions
Japanese label Weird Truth receives some well-deserved congrats from me, because of this release. In my opinion Mournful Congregation from South Australia is one of the best kept secrets concerning doom-metal. This double CD contains all their recorded material from the period 1994-2000, including the excellent first demo Weeping and the promo Tears From A Grieving Heart. Personally I`m very curious why this band hasn`t become more popular. Even within the doom scene not a lot of people have heard from these guys. Perhaps that`s because MC play slow, very slow but with a certain atmosphere that give you immediate goosebumps. A bit comparable to the likes of Thergothon or Funeral, but with an own face. They incorporate melancholic melodies and some acoustic parts within their music that never gets any faster. No MC play slow exclusively. Not a lot of people will dig this, but if you`re into the so called funeral doomstyle you have to check it out. This 2 discs clock in over 2 hours so you get what you deserve. The first press of this double album is 1000 copies so act fast to get it, it`s worth it. I can also tell, Belgiums Painiac Records has released the aforementioned Tears From A Grieving Heart on vinyl (limited to 300 copies). These recordings are (as well as the ones on the DCD) all remastered and sound excellent. If you`re after the vinyl-version you can contact Painiac via e-mail: Painiac@pandora.be