There’s something about British extreme metal that just hits different. If you don’t have the hounds from hell Wolf Brigade absolutely exhausting you in a never ending pursuit, you’re dodging hammer slams from gruff as fuck monsters Mastiff, or destructively and methodically being deconstructed slowly to the caveman behemoths that are the almighty CONAN. Adding to that realm, and really incorporating elements from all three into a hybrid of ferocious tempos, boxy percussion, and enough gruff to just absolutely skin anything in seconds is Coffin Mulch.
Almost death’n’roll death metal is probably the best way to describe what Coffin Mulch do. Within 30 minutes, the Glasgow quartet punch up, down, sideways, and incessantly. Mechanical tempo shifts thrust from aggressive, to the verge of tipping and toppling over in slow motion, before aggressively gaining steam again. It’s an enthralling, sonically overwhelming experience that just absolutely champions the irreverence, and destructive nonsense of everything great in metal.
With its punky energy, the production emphasizes the bassier riffs that are hooky, but by no means weak in any measure. The percussion aims to overwhelm, yet not steal the show, and the vocals abrasively compete against it all in a death rattle delivery that elevates its vitality in interesting clear screams that seldom show up, but sound dope as fuck when they do. Everything is mixed well, and the dynamic elements are emphasized in a compelling way. Almost every track clocks in under four minutes, as these dudes provide a splattery offering of hellish tracks that are both awesomely grotesque, and catchy as fuck.
“Spectral Intercession” relies mostly on the band’s jamming ability and energy, as they shift to various progressions that could almost exist as separate tracks on their own. As an opening statement, it’s a good one, and immediately hooks you into wanting to listen to more. “Into The Blood” lurches as it brings a gearshift-like riff, and comparably pop death metal sensibilities that make it pretty intoxicating. The chorus is dialed into more of a caveman roar as if Amon Amarth sounded tough for once. The energy of this track just screams fist fight, and relentlessly picks up pace to an overly aggressive level but not before everything drops into a sluggish doom riff stuffed hole of despair.
The doomy tempo shifts that show up elsewhere are effective in tracks such as album closer “Eternal Enslavement” and “Mental Suicide”, while their faster paced elements stay incessantly pummeling, and exhaustive like on “Fall of Gaia” and “Infernal Mass”, and sometimes they just split the difference, and play attention deficit death metal like on “In The Grip of Death” and “Infernal Mass”. Overall, everything stays engaging, entertaining, and rewarding before everything abruptly stops by the album’s end.
I wish there was a better way to describe the English extreme metal sound, as Coffin Mulch carries a similar and unique spirit that their fellow Brits do, and that’s wholly a compliment. With Coffin Mulch developing the connective tissue sonically between D-beat crust doom, and trad death metal, these four have built a machine that is firing on all cylinders with a unique sound and keen sense of balance. Overall, a stellar foundational debut for the band to strongly build upon.
