Coffins

Buried Death

Written by: AB on 21/01/2009 19:47:19

Even though we are already well into 2009, 2008 will not yet ease its grip on me - I've stil got an album or two I would like to review from last year. First up here is Coffins, a heavy-as-fuck underground outfit from exotic Japan (in extreme metal anyways), and their newest offering of punishing death metal in "Buried Death". Though Coffins' death metal is not handled with super impressive technical skill, nor the progressive ingenuity or the manic speed of some of yours truly's favourite death metal albums, "Buried Death" is no less extreme.

I've seen Coffins labelled as death/doom, but I don't feel inclined to agree - slow death metal does not equal doom metal. This is rather more like death mixed with feelings of sludge; slow, absurdly heavy and crusty around the edges. From the get-go of opener "Under the Stench", the bass lies bone crushingly heavy in the mix, and "Buried Death" hits like a slow ton of bricks [Ed: How does something that’s slow really hit you though? :D]. Bass handler Koreeda is backed with simple riffing - no intricacy here, and together with the total omission of solos (though there are a couple of slow low key leads to be found across the album) the less is more point comes across just nicely. We wouldn't want guitarist Uchibo too focused on his axe anyways, as he is also the deliverer of the ultra guttural death grunt that completes the deal together with the simple drumming of You, and the occasional high pitched screams from bass guy Koreeda. This formula is more heavy than brutal, and it adds up to a disgustingly claustrophobic old school death metal album. Sounding like a slower version of Mortician (without the stupidly long sound clips and lame ass drum machine), or the porno-grind part of GUT's "The Cumback 2006", or the old school Craig Pillard-era Incantation, Coffins fucking crushes with their low tech brutality (just because it's more heavy than brutal doesn't mean it isn't brutal!).

There isn't really a point to pointing out different songs on "Buried Death", as the sound is the same throughout - dirty, crusty, heavy. If the typical feeling one has of death metal is of violent murder and rampage, as so many of them preach, of being beaten or stabbed etc. etc., then Coffins swamps you, overwhelms you and slowly crushes you. "Buried Death" is a claustrophobic musical experience, a quagmire of unrelenting death metal. If it is this 'stuck in the mud' feeling people are referring to when they see Coffins as death/doom, then I can understand where they are coming from. This is not for everyone, and the grade reflects that too.

7

Download: Altars of Gore, Mortification To Ruin, The Frozen Styx
For the fans of: Incantation, Funerus
Listen: MySpace

Release date: 2008
20 Buck Spin

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