ALBUM REVIEW: Coffin Curse, "Cease to Be"

By: Chris Markwell

Music is, at its heart, the joy of discovery.  There’s nothing quite like finding a new sound, a new band, that instantly sparks your imagination, or leaves you wanting to learn more.  

When I was handed Coffin Curse’s debut album “Ceased to Be”, I was intrigued.  Being released on 27 January 2020 through Memento Mori, this is classic, old-school death metal, with gut-punch riffery and haunting, reverb-soaked solos. 

This was a discovery.  I had to learn more.  

Information about the band itself, however, was quite difficult to find.  So, I went ahead and sent them a message through the aether of the internet, and was pleasantly surprised to find them more than happy to interact with this enamoured fan

Sludgelord) Hello there, please introduce yourselves

Hi Chris, first of all we want to thank you for your support and dissemination for this rotten death metal crusade. The band is called Coffin Curse, formed by Carlos Fuentes and Max Neira, in the over-polluted city of Santiago, the capital city of Chile, a country located in the far south of this planet. 

Sludgelord) How long has Coffin Curse been a band, and were you in any bands before this one? 

Coffin Curse was formed in 2012, primarily as an alternate project. Our main band until that moment was Inanna, a death metal horde that has remained uninterrupted since 2000. Between the two of us, we have participated in various metal outfits like Trimegisto, Death Smell, Perpetuum, Sol Sistere and others that this alcoholic memory does not allow me to remember now. 

Sludgelord) What is the metal scene like in Chile? 

If we put everything together as one scene, we can say that it has been very strong since 1983 approximately. The number of bands is almost overwhelming, and we could name a hundred excellent projects for more than 30 years of history. In each town starting at the north end to the bitter cold of the Magallanes region, it is full of hate and crap that is synthesized as metal music. Nowadays, is like A set of micro-scenes in a bag, nobody cares much about music at a national level, if not at a level at which each zone supports its own bands or friends, which it’s OK, I think. New generations have appeared and the bands multiply. In our particular case, we’re getting old and we are not very interested about social life and shit besides METAL.

Sludgelord) Do you have any tour dates lined up? 

Nothing apart from a visit planned for February 22 in the city of Santa Bárbara

located in the south of the country. 

Sludgelord) Where would you like to tour? 

Leaving aside our own country, we would be interested to know Perú, parts of Europe and the US. We hope that with the release of our first full-length a good & nasty tour can be realized, wherever.

I am very grateful to both Carlos Fuentes and Max Neira for taking the time and effort to respond to my questions, it’s very much appreciated.  

So, the Chilean two-piece have created this album with intent to destroy speakers worldwide.  And they should succeed: what they lack in band members, they more than make up for in musical texture.  Seriously, just two guys made this?? The riffs are rampant, the vocals are so guttural they could shred steel, and the drumming is the relentless pounding that quickens the heartbeat in excitement.  

Eight songs, two maniacs, no regrets.  My personal pick of the bunch is “Deep in Streams of Purifying Dirt”, which starts with this doomy, tolling intro, which then rips into this hacking, mauling terror, full of time changes and vicious vocals.  Imagine if “South of Heaven” era Slayer got into a bar fight with Necrophagist, and you may get the idea.  

Coffin Curse’s “Ceased to Be” is a statement of intent.  It’s a joy to listen to, and shows that Chilean death metal is definitely a worthwhile scene to experience.  It’s a hard-hitting debut release: put this on, crank it up, and feel the touch of death upon you.  

Band info: facebook  || bandcamp

ALBUM REVIEW: Shrine of the Serpent, "Entropic Disillusion"

By: Mark Ambrose

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 23/04/2018

Label: Memento Mori Records

Whether cranking out a moldering dirge like the introductory, instrumental “Descend into Dusk” or the chugging progressions of “Hope’s Aspersion”, Shrine of the Serpent deliver the perfect mix of nauseating terror so often characterized by the best death doom bands

“Entropic Disillusion” CD//DD track listing

1. Descend into Dusk

2. Hailing the Enshrined

3. Hope’s Aspersion

4. Desecrated Tomb

5. Returning

6. Epoch of Annihilation

7. Rending the Psychic Void

The Review:

I love the menacing crackle of lo-fi death metal in all its permutations: classic, grind, blackened, death doom.  There’s a muddy, horrific vein running through those crusty recordings that instantly invoke twilight drives through swamps and decrepit woods, all-night gore flick marathons, and seedy exploitation VHS rentals that just sets my monster kid heart all aflutter.  Combined with the gruesome, sometimes nauseating artwork that typifies the genre (even the borderline incompetent shit), even the rawest demo tape can turn me into an easy mark for bands who can thrash out a competent slab of death.  It helps when they manage to back up their swagger with some real bona fides, and the trio behind Shrine of the Serpent have some real chops on display, bolstered by haunting cover artwork by Mariusz Lewandowski & Vladimir Chebakov. 

Whether cranking out a moldering dirge like the introductory, instrumental “Descend into Dusk”, or the chugging progressions of “Hope’s Aspersion”, Shrine of the Serpent has one unifying characteristic: VOLUME.  The vibrating bass tones and the shrieking crackle of guitar leads are fuzzy, dirty, and punishing.  Often, this hits that perfect mix of nauseating terror that characterizes the best death doom bands.  Todd Janeczek’s inhuman growls are multitracked and layered in several different registers, imbuing tracks like “Desecrated Tomb” with the sense that there’s a whole host of ghoulish, unholy narrators.  Chuck Watkins’ drum performance is that subtle balance of technical skill and instinctual barbarism that the best death drummers can pull off effortlessly.  And Adam De Prez’s multi-duty efforts are formidable, especially his unholy bass tone.

Unfortunately, there’s a lack of balance in the mix that quashes some stellar intricacy.  The left channel in particular is just too damn jacked into the red zone, so you get clipping on many of the guitar tracks.  And frankly the punishing volume can be unpleasant and diminish moments like the volume shift in “Epoch of Annihilation” that should be chilling but instead sounds strange.  This volume escalation is an issue that plagued even the best death metal bands, as well as modern superstars (Metallica and Rush have both fallen victim to “volume wars” in recent years).  For a band so solid in every sense of the term – rhythmically, technically, and vocally – a steadier touch at the mixing board next time may produce a genuine masterpiece.  For now, with “Entropic Disillusion”, Shrine of the Serpent embraces both the pinnacles, and pitfalls, that decades of death metal have traversed, while showing promise for exciting work ahead.

“Entropic Disillusion” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

Horrified - Descent Into Putridity (Album Review)

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 28/10/2014

Label: Memento Mori Records

‘Descent Into Putridity’ CD/DD track listing:

01. Tomb of Rebirth (04:41)

02. Narcolepsy (03:43)

03. Mortally Deceased (03:31)

04. Descent Into Putridity (05:05)

05. Buried Among Putrified Flesh (04:26)

06. Veil of Souls (05:08)

07. Repugnant Degeneration (04:32)

Bio:

Welcome to the darkened recesses of old school death metal. Firmly rooted in those hallowed traditions, we have one band who twist the sickening riffs and patterns of old even further, in their never-ending worship of the extreme. Names like Morbid Angel, Autopsy, Pestilence, Cancer: these are the gods of a depraved group of individuals from Newcastle, UK. Their name is Horrified.

For a start, the band are deceptively young and fresh: mastermind Daniel Alderson started it last year as a studio project, enrolling Sam Butterfield (guitarist of Hieroglyph) for vocals. This resulted in the chaotic Carcinogenic Feasting demo, which was subsequently released on local DIY label Tombs In The Valley Productions/Torn Flesh Records. Their first ever concert was the first edition of Byker Grave, a highly successful if brief set which is available on YouTube.

For their début album Descent Into Putridity, Dan steps up to the microphone, and despite being so young his vocals already resemble the throat-ripping snarls of Martin Van Drunen (Pestilence, Asphyx) or Lars-Göran Petrov (Entombed) circa Left Hand Path, although with Dan's own demented treatment. The band are all deceptively young, and yet have already racked up an impressive amount of time in bands like Plague Rider, Winds Of Genocide, Risen Prophecy and Vacivus. This lends a maturity to their sound, yet still with the vibrant urgency that this genre requires. The album is packed with encrusted riffs, wailing solos and pummelling drums: this is a reminder of why people fell in love with death metal in the first place.??

Descent Into Putridity is scheduled for an October release via Memento Mori Records.

Horrified is:

Dan Alderson - Guitars/Vocals

Ross Oliver - Guitars

Dan Hughes - Bass

Matthew Henderson - Drums

Review:

As with all genres, the popularity of which bands are influential shifts as time goes on. Amongst the more underground death metal bands, the primary influential bands have been comprised of two main camps in recent years. On one side there is early Incantation and Autopsy and on the other is Dismember and Entombed. On The Incantation/Autopsy side, we have bands like Father Befouled, Ignivomous, and Dead Congregation. On the Dismember/Entombed side we have bands such as Black Breath, Miasmal, and Entrails. Those two camps have dominated the more old school-minded of the last several years.

In 2014, there is a new camp developing with a set of different influences. Specifically, I’m referring to Asphyx and Death, with the Death influence tending to come from the pre-‘Individual Thought Patterns’ era. Two of the year’s best albums, from Morbus Chron and Horrendous, feature these influences, along with several others. Horrified’s debut album ‘Descent Into Putridity’ draws from similar influences, along with with making use of the Sunlight Studios sound of Dismember. Horrified tend to focus on the uglier, simpler side of things as compared to Horrendous’ more melodic approach. It makes for an album that is very enjoyable, though not without its flaws.

My primary concern is that songs all too often fall apart at slower tempos, and it seems to be a drumming issue. The issue is exacerbated by the kick and snare being so prominent in the mix. A prime example can be found at about the 2:20 mark on “Narcolepsy”. There is some excellent riffing going on, but it’s less effective than it should be because the kick feels out of sync with everything else going on in the song. There’s a lot to like on the album, but the drummer tightening up his performance will be of crucial importance down the road. Even slower thrash beats are tripped up by the kick either dragging or being ahead of the downbeat, and for a band that is at this level compositionally, it presents a problem that can’t be resolved soon enough.

With that issue addressed, the album overcomes those mechanical shortcomings with some powerful death metal songwriting skills. Vocally is where the Asphyx influence is strongest, with Daniel Alderson’s style being a clear homage to Martin van Drunen, and it’s a good fit on the whole. Horrified seem to be at their best when in that relaxed thrash beat groove, even with the inconsistent drumming. What makes Horrified a bit more interesting than some of the more cut and paste old school death metal bands is their willingness to include additional musical influences from other American death metal bands, both Florida and New York.

With a nicely varied songwriting style already in place and an improved drumming performance, there is no reason we shouldn’t all be keeping Horrified in the same company as all of the bands I mentioned earlier in the years ahead. If nothing else, the future looks bright for them on future releases, and I would still recommend giving this album some of your time.

Words by: Daniel Jackson

You can pick up a DD copy here (Name your price) and CD here

For more information:

http://horrified.bandcamp.com/releases

https://www.facebook.com/Horrifieduk?directed_target_id=0