Coffin Dancer ‘Pax Romana’ CDEP 2006

Coffin Dancer 'Pax Romana' CDEP 2006More from the atmospheric sludge stable. This time around, it’s Miami’s Coffin Dancer with their first EP: Pax Romana. The EP is split into three “acts”, each with their own historically-orientated sub-title (The less hungover amongst you can find more information via Wikipedia). This, to me, feels slightly generic at times. It’s a good first release from the band, and it shows promise. There’s a cool spaced-out Bossk-esque sound to them at times, and most of the time the music is either peaking or breaking down. That can feel slightly repetitive at times, but it keeps the mood going.

There’s nothing genuinely wrong with this EP, music-wise. The vocals are ferocious, and the music interesting. There’s just nothing “new” to it. Everything down to the tremolo picking that surfaces out from behind the music, feels as though it’s been recycled from other more innovative bands. That may sound harsh, but from a critical perspective, that’s what their music sounds like. Even still, this EP grabs your attention, and it shows that the band have great potential given the chance.

So many atmospheric sludge metal bands seem to pertain their sound to a blueprint that has been laid down by its innovators. With albums like Cult of Luna and Minsk’s latest, there’s hope that more can be done with the genre than the “Same shit, different bucket” feeling that seems to be surfacing with releases like this. That said, it is a first attempt, and it shows that they’re proficient in the basic principles of the genre. I have an honest hope that their next release will be far superior.

Label: Denovali Records
Website: www.myspace.com/coffindancer

Scribed by: Lewis Hunter