What’s up, foos? Your old boy Waldo here with all the new releases that are fit to hate/love or otherwise be indifferent to…
“No frills, no trends, no fashion” reads the press release for Japan’s Coffins fifth full-length (and COUNTLESS splits, EPs and even a Decibel Flexi Series single) Beyond the Circular Demise on Relapse Records. Starting out by saying this thing is nasty is like not really fair. This is crusty as PECK. How to open this review is difficult as Coffins have been on the scene for 20+ years. Beyond is an exercise in pure filth… crushing (mostly plodding riffs) with pounding drums, low ass bass, throat shredding vocals and wailing guitars. This is no OSDM throwback, this just IS. Imagine Venom if you put your finger on the LP and let it detune and drag, then you can get CLOSE to what Coffins sounds like. By FAR their best effort. This rocks, and is heavy as hell. 8 Fucking Pecks.
It’s no secret that I like some trad metal here and there, but sometimes carrying the torch of heavy metal is not that easy. Ram The Throne Within kinda proves that theory. Ram is pushing and almost 20-year career and it’s REALLY hard to hate on this because it’s so unabashedly “metal.” Ram unfortunately hits all of the notes of trad metal, but just kind of misses as a whole. Again, it’s really hard to NOT like this as there’s a lot of talent, but it’s just not quite there. So, this is pretty traditional, you know, rockin’ riffs, solos, “tough” vocals… all the things you’d expect, and it’s actually pretty fun. Although there’s fun, there’s something missing here and I can’t quite put my feather on it. So, if all of this sounds good (and it’s not bad) give it a spin and maybe you’ll find a little more than I did. 5 Fucking Pecks.
Looking for something a little more extreme? Visceral Disgorge is releasing Slithering Evisceration and it’s… extreme. After eight years they are back. So, what about this? This is just what is considered “brootal” death metal, nasty blasts, guttural vocals and everything you’d expect is all here. What REALLY sticks out is the riffs, there are harmonies and what I’d consider some “trad metal” passages with a healthy dose of tech thrown in, which really breaks up the monotony. I’m digging this. 7 Fucking Pecks.
Waldo out!
