Coffin Mulch – Septic Funeral (Review)

Until a few weeks ago, Scottish Death Metal was still foreign to me. I’m glad that it has changed now through Coffin Mulch. These guys from the island will soon release their first EP called Spectic Funeral. On this one, there are six songs to listen to, which will make your eardrums burst. The title track shows clearly where the journey should go. Muddy sound, coupled with the typical Swedish chainsaw sound à la HM2. The vocals are underlaid with proper reverb and seem more than devilish. The EP seems very rough and organically produced, which fits perfectly with the sound of Coffin Mulch. Overall, the whole thing then sounds about as if Autopsy had sex with Dismember.

Besides the just mentioned title track, which contains light doom elements, the quartet can also pick up speed significantly. On songs like “Black Liqufifaction” and “Live Again” you can clearly hear the love for Swedish Death Metal. It rumbles properly and here and there some riffs flash that Entombed could not have written better in their heyday. Especially the guitar solo on “Black Liqufifaction” reminds strongly of old classics like “Left Hand Path” or “Clandestine”. With “Live Again” Coffin Mulch definitely show their crusty side, I’m not quite sure if this is really a Scottish band or if it just mutated into a D-Beat troupe. “Carniverous Subjugation” also falls into a similar pattern. The shortest song on the record bangs away in the same D-Beat, almost Hardcore manner and definitely takes no prisoners. The drums show their punky side especially here, which makes the EP sound very refreshing.

The different tempo changes can also be found on “Onward To Death” and “Coffin Mulch”. Nasty doom interludes are cleverly packed and before you know it, the guys don’t even take their foot off the gas pedal. You are literally pressed against the wall. Especially the tight solos let the auditory canals bleed properly. For me, especially these are the highlight of the EP – short and painless, not too playful, brought exactly to the point. That’s the way you want it. Of course, at the moment there are many bands trying to sound like all the great OSDM heroes. This is not always the case yet those Scots succeed perfectly. Coffin Mulch prepare a refreshing mix of Death Metal, Doom and crusty interludes together, which is fun. All in all Spectic Funeral seems like a bag of chips. It tastes good, but unfortunately it runs out way too fast. Hopefully, these guys don’t take too much time and release their debut album very soon. Spectic Funeral will be released on February 26 via Redefining Darkness Records.

8 / 10

Favorite Track:
“Onward to Death”