Fvneral Fvkk – Indecent Idols
Release Date: 23rd October 2026
Label: Dying Victims Productions
Bandcamp
Genre: Epic Doom Metal
FFO: Warning, Solitude Aeternus, Woods of Ypres, Tribunal, Johannes Ockeghem, Crypt Sermon, Hamferð, Structure, Josquin des Prez, In the Woods…
Review By: Malte Brigge
I avoided Hamburg’s Fvneral Fvkk for the longest time because I assumed, based on their stupid name, they were a one-man black metal project locked in a basement bloodfeud with Periodeater. Holy fuck is that not what they are, and one of the smartest metal things I’ve done was giving their 2019 debut, Carnal Confessions, a listen. If I’d been keeping track back then, it would be a retroactive top 5, if not top 1, of 2019. Whereas Carnal Confessions is deeply oppressive, there’s something almost liberating in its follow-up, Indecent Idols. If you’re looking for salvation, though, this aint the place.
Indecent Idols is an impressively crafted, minimalist affair that might have been recorded in the vastness of St Stephen’s Cathedral with a Cherub at the mic. Thematically, Fvneral Fvkk’s specific mission is songs exposing the crimes, lunacy, and predation of the Catholic Church. While there is a primary focus on sexual assault and pedophilia (The Beasts of Speyer, A Hidden Threnody, whose repetitive melody suggests the cyclical nature of diocesan abuse), they also present Pope-sanctioned serial killers (Crosses to the Gallows, because “God wants you dead”), religious fascists (Bishop of the Iron Guard), and Pope Stephen VI’s Leichensynode. (I got my Wikipedia’s worth exploring lyrical inspirations and redefining Hell.) These stories are supported by cavernous, at times aggressive, riffs and soaring lead melodies built by Pastor Pellex and Decanus Obscaenus, with punctual acoustic shifts; hammered down with Frater Flagellum’s powerful drums; vested by Vicarius Vespillo’s understated bass; and, most importantly, presented in Cantor Cinaedicus’ dramatic, somber baritone.
In the seven years since Carnal Confessions, Cinaedicus has smoothed out every crack and fissure to present a voice that could lead a choir, or army, of Seraphim. He immediately arrests the listener with intro Confiteor, a Latin canon that spirals atop a powerful rhythmic foundation, performing melodies and harmonies that could have been written by Johannes Ockeghem. Something stunning and rare is at work here, confirmed by unexpected melodic directions that express progressiveness without vanity or flash. Song of the year contender Crosses to the Gallows maintains a liturgical feel when it crescendos and breaks your soul against a harmonized descent; song of the year contender A Hidden Threnody shocks with its vocal virtue and melodic tenderness; song of the year contender, Bishop of the Iron Guard, while built from popular structures of repeated bridges and refrains, is not only destructively powerful but also one of the most crushingly memorable melodies of these past years. Cinaedicus’ angelic purity contrasts sharply with the horror and grotesqueness of the lyrics. Fvneral Fvkk uses the highest, most beautiful art forms the religion inspired as a medium for discussing its most brutal, horrific crimes; the result is close to godliness.
In that, I am only slightly hyperbolic. The musical foundations of this record are as solid as a church carved in the rock. Big, open chords plod as doom metal does, but rarely without a lead progression when Cinaedicus goes quiet. The guitar is thick and dolorous, reminding me of Godthrymm in tone, Structure in scope, and Fires in the Distance in vision. Bishop of the Iron Guard features a boot-stomping double-time riff that wouldn’t be out of place on an At the Gates album, and Even in Death (We Possess You) opens into aerial harmonies that could have been written by Iron Maiden. Every song leans musically into its own theme while building the album forward with nearly flawless pacing. The album isn’t flawless—the DR5 mix clips in places, the bass is too often buried, and the sample from Archbishop Robert Carlson’s eye-opening legal deposition, though not superfluous in its bookending of A Hidden Threnody, gets a little tiring after a few listens. But Indecent Idols is about as immaculate as any album has ever been, and while a cooler mix would be welcome, that slight claustrophobia may be necessary to its thematic and structural integrity.
This doom isn’t about sadboi pretensions. It’s an indelibly beautiful account of the most shocking abuses any society has performed on its most vulnerable elements. Indecent Idols is a serious contender for the top of any serious list, surpassing Carnal Confessions in both scope and structure. Elevated by Cantor Cinaedicus’ gorgeous voice and heartrending melodies, weighted with sturdy musical heft, Fvneral Fvkk has far outpaces the expectations set by previous work. The many years have been worth the wait, and will be worth waiting again for music of this standard. I am on my knees in anticipation for more.
(5 / 5)
