Now children, this glorious reviewer shall finally cast the final call on whether or not this controversial album shall deserve high praise or an endless barrage of insults. In all honesty, Funeral Mist deserves…a bit from each! After entering into the world of Maranatha, I can really go in two separate directions on what was or was not validated within this divisive album.

First Blessing - it has Daniel "Arioch" Rosten!

Arioch's talent as a master of black metal is debatable, but there are some moments here which truly generate greatness. Most importantly, Rosten's project is his brainchild, and Funeral Mist's course of travel charges toward brutal black metal and pulsing, atmospheric sonnets usually contributing towards qualities one would expect are typically enjoyably in content. Rosten's vocals are simply mesmerizing throughout as expected; haunting and abysmal, these grunts are wicked additions to this devilish release. Finally, I want to take some of these riffs and give them to charity; it would just be wrong to not share such gifts which keep on giving! A noticeable chunk of Rosten's riffs are good: fun tremolo picking numbers, a couple nifty doom hammers, some frenzied yet interesting quasi-death metal riffs, and a few near perfect depictions of black metal riffing in its prime. Believe me, there's nothing musically distinct or evolutionary about straightforward, scaling assaults like "Blessed Curse," but once one hears the hyperborean riffs echoing through a damned beat and Rosten's howls, one will realize he knows his black metal when it counts.

First Curse - It has Daniel "Arioch" Rosten…or should I say…Mortuus!

It's true, folks - Arioch also grunts for Marduk. Obviously he's worked with the blastobaters for a few years now, so the senseless riffing, doom filler, constant blasting, and erupting cacophony of Marduk's manifestation unmistakably boils over into Funeral Mist's territory, the influence is so obvious only a fool would ignore it. After experiencing a thunderous opus like "Sword of Faith," I questioned whether or not the album's opener was a b-side for Rom 5:12 instead of Funeral Mist's own example of individualism. Like a sizable number of cuts from Maranatha, a lot of this stuff sounds like the infantry hymn of the Panzer Division Mongoloid second battalion, awaiting orders to shell one's face with so much stupid one will find metalcore a deep, philosophical art after sitting through Rosten's noisecore cannon. Funeral Mist, you ask? This is more like Funeral Bitch!

Final Blessing - Funeral Mist does - at times - strike experimental gold.

Rosten's endgame comes down to this - there are wildcards within Maranatha. Its nature tame to its origin, Maranatha dabbles into some adventurous extremes through many atypical plains which were certainly unexpected from my foresight; however, I'll quickly state the benefits are adjustably lush. For example, "Blessed Curse" is focused around a recording of an evangelical preaching on damnation and brimstone if one is to ignore Christ, and although the music is already stellar, the inclusion of something so bizarre and powerful truly makes it the album's climax; it's haunting, electrifying, charismatic, and divine. Furthermore, such additions also armor "A New Light" through the application of gothic choirs behind Rosten's rasping shrieks and his acceptable riffing game. Clearly, without the musical tampering, these cuts just wouldn't stack up to passable standards if these ideas were ultimately ignored. Isn't this the essence of risk taking? I certainly think so.

Final Curse - When not striking experimental gold, Funeral Mist sounds f*cking terrible regardless.

Yes, the obvious dagger-to-heart conclusion, now finally personified in stunning realism - Maranatha, when not cashing in on stellar choirs arrangements or other goofy goodness, becomes a self-parody of itself whilst tampering with risk or its basic habitat. For example, the compulsive need to push the progressive envelope results in "White Stone," which is essentially four minutes of doom filler, start-stop riffing, and Arioch moaning into a microphone. I'm dying from the excitement. Neither am I fond of the Soulfly-worthy breakdown on the title track, nor the three minutes of clean guitars concluding "Jesus Saves" for really no reason, the obsessive sampling for intros, echoing vocals on "White Stone," the brass instrumental section…very inaccurate indeed. Good ideas were thrown astray, bombastic thoughts idolized, and Funeral Mist fell into decay. God knows I love experimentation; it's the only reason I really enjoy certain parts of Maranatha, yet there's a lot of mental causalities due to such playfulness. Once again, neither point emerges victorious.

Final verdict - maybe try this later?

Overall, I can see eye-to-eye with the two sides of the argument regarding Funeral Mist's musical accomplishments or lack thereof. Maranatha is a bipolar entity featuring moments gold could not buy and others which make dirt the foundation of wealth, so what else is there to do? I guess the fanboys ravishing over Arioch just because and the outspoken haters who want Arioch's head on a plate just because are equally right and wrong in their arguments. Funeral Mist shows strong potential and even displays it, yet just gets lost in bad knowledge and poor intuition. Some of the songs are fantastic, no doubt about it, but proceed with caution; duds like "Sword of Faith" or the title track lurk only for derailment.

Best option - poke Maranatha with an analytical stick and make your own judgment.