Bands: Funeral For A Friend with Shai Hulud

Location: Luxor, Köln
Date: 04/02/2016

The end is nigh! At least for welsh post-hardcore/emo-pioneers FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND, who disband after fourteen years since the release of their 2002 debut ep “Between Order and Model“. Their first two records “Casually Dressed & Deep In Conversation“ and “Hours“ are among the finest releases of the genre. After two alternative rock records, the group got back on track to deliver some of the finest posthardcore collection out there. Last year‘s “Chapter and Verse“ will mark the seventh and final studio output of the Welsh outfit. One last tour and that‘s it. Two nights in one city, where “Hours“ gets its live treatment on the first evening and “Casually Dressed & Deep In Conversation“ on the other night.

Both nights at Cologne‘s Luxor are sold out. The crowd is eager to see FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND, but they took their friends in SHAI HULUD as a support with them. I saw the American hardcore/metalcore crew play on a festival a few years ago. Back then I didn‘t the metallic yet chaotic hardcore not that much. Today I really enjoy the show. The group does a good job, even though the crowd doesn‘t consist of their target audience. Only a few people seem to be familiar and into them. The half hour support slot could have been filled with a far worse band than these hardcore pioneers.

Then it is time for the last FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND show I am ever going to see. Of course they start with ‘All The Rage‘, the opener of “Hours“. The next ten songs are no surprise for the band plays the record in its entirety. Even though ‘History‘ or ‘Roses For The Dead‘ are live staples for years, today it‘s more about the far less played tunes such as the melancholic ‘Drive‘ or ‘The End of Nothing‘, for sure the most brutal track these Welsh guys ever delivered.