Review: Blind Equation – A Funeral in Purgatory

Style: Cybergrind/Metalcore (Mixed Vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Prurient, Attack, Attack!, Architects
Country: USA (Illinois)
Release date: 18 July 2025

Internet discourse has never escaped the constant tug-of-war between sincerity and irony. As soon as people start enjoying themselves a little too much, it becomes cool to espouse how uncool having fun is. This sends whoever’s become lame out of the public eye, their ideas never given the chance to be fully realized. The crabcore movement of 2007 was one of the tragic victims of this, a scene of dramatic stylistic experimentation with not just electronic instrumentation but song structures as well, pivoting on a dime from breakdowns to trance sections. It was always a little goofy, but public perception pigeonholed it into being seen as nothing more than a novelty. Thankfully, the pendulum has swung back towards the side of sincerity, and now Blind Equation is here to take the ideology of that sound and push it further than ever before.

A Funeral in Purgatory is everything its sole member James McHenry could possibly want in music all at once, often fitting upwards of four completely different genres into single songs. What starts as a metalcore verse becomes overwhelmed by synth lines, crowding out the guitars until none are left. All of a sudden, a distorted 808 drowns out all the other percussion, with trap hi-hats following their way in shortly after. As this section fades, a clean metalcore section comes in in its place, but not without a thick layer of autotune slathered across the vocals. In concept, this sort of haphazard, deranged songwriting shouldn’t work at all, let alone come together into a complete whole, but even at its most egregious, A Funeral in Purgatory consistently maintains a cohesive atmosphere of despair. Four-on-the-floor trance beats and twinkly synths over metalcore screams sounds ridiculous in theory, but the guitars clearing out leaves room for the synthesized kick to dramatically punctuate every screamed word. Everything here is done with purpose – the trance arrangements behind the guitars fill a role similar to dungeon synth ambience on a black metal album, or strings to a band like Fleshgod Apocalypse. And while the autotune and vocaloid throughout the album may feel unusual, but they add a feeling of dehumanization that contributes to the album’s themes. Nothing here is conventional, but all of it is justified – the album’s eclecticism serves a grander purpose.

The atmosphere on A Funeral in Purgatory is incredible, feeling closer to Prurient than any metal album more often than not, but albums like this can quirk too close to the sun and end up faltering in terms of songwriting quality. Thankfully, on top of everything else, this is also just a good metalcore album. “Flashback” has a chorus sung by a vocaloid and its guitar lines replaced with synths for the most part, but none of this comes at a cost of the quality of the riffs or the intricacy of the drumming. It’s composed of unconventional elements, but its aggression cannot be denied. Even the non-metal songs are phenomenal—”Mourn” is a standout in this regard, juxtaposing harsh screams with depressing atmospheric synths. The lack of guitars recalls “The Black Stone” by Kayo Dot, with light and somber instrumentation bringing the despair of the singer’s wails to the forefront. Between the wonderfully eclectic songwriting, compelling metalcore sections, and weeping emotional core, the risks taken on this album all end up contributing to a phenomenal whole.

An album like A Funeral in Purgatory could only ever be the result of a creative single-mindedly pursuing their vision regardless of how ridiculous it may come across. I eagerly anticipate whatever insane direction Blind Equation sets sail for next, and when the pendulum of the internet swings back into the camp of judgment rather than enjoyment, may the band stay its course onwards. Turns out you can make some real good shit when you’re not worried about having to follow along with whatever some dorks think the rules ought to be.

Recommended tracks: Flashback, It Feels Like the End, Relinquished Dreams
You may also like: FIRE-TOOLZ, Deathtrippa, Cocojoey, Temenigru, Gonemage
Final verdict: 8/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Instagram | Metal-Archives

Label: Prosthetic Records – Bandcamp | Facebook | Official Website

Blind Equation is:
– James McHenry (vocals, all instruments, writing, recording, production)
With guests:
– JOHNNASCUS (vocals)
– Strawberry Hospital (vocals)