Review: Coffin Rot ‘Dreams Of The Disturbed’
Behold! The return of Portland, Oregon’s sordid death metal miscreants Coffin Rot with their sophomore record Dreams Of The Disturbed out September 20th and again released via the always killer Maggot Stomp. It’s been five years since this fettered five piece spat out their destructive debut A Monument To The Dead which I happened to thoroughly enjoy. Will this new opus continue the quality and will the large gap lead to an evolution in sound? That caller will be what I discuss in this here review.
Coffin Rot serve up that gore-soaked death spewed upon the world in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, if you dig Autopsy, Deicide, Chris Barnes era Cannibal Corpse or Necrophagia, then this will certainly be up your street. You get that mid-paced death metal rot that you found on their debut but there’s a significant increase in the harder-faster approach on here. Fear not, the riff feast from A Monument To The Dead hasn’t been sacrificed, but there’s way more savagery in the band’s approach here… something that I for one am here for.
Whilst also maintaining their ‘no bullshit’ approach to death metal, Coffin Rot manage to steamroll all in their path with their eviscerating performance. The up take in production also manages to lift them into a more ‘professional’ sound without sacrificing the gritty viscera-soaked atmosphere these guys are so good at producing. There’s definitely a Maggot Stomp seal of approval and this fits very well into a consistently excellent repertoire, it’s murderous, dingy and all kinds of heavy.
it’s murderous, dingy and all kinds of heavy…
I’ve got to hand it to these guys from a musical point of view, the guitar work is excellent from the aforementioned riff feast while also nailing soaring leads that tear through the mire. The drums are a great display of blasted madness like on Perverted Exhumation, then there’s the chunkier groove laden filth on Unmarked Shallow Grave that keeps your ears pricked throughout the whole record. Combine that with the chunky bass delivery and you’re onto a winner. Hayden Johnson also brings the venom with his inhumane vocals, a killer performance that stands out in a plethora of solid performances!
So the gap of five years has led to a touch more brutality in Coffin Rot’s sound while retaining the quality of their debut and as mentioned before, the band’s no bullshit approach is always admirable. If I’m being perfectly honest, I actually think their debut is a stronger record as a whole and I think that falls down to it having a stronger and more acerbic atmosphere, but if you’re looking for a solid stand-out death metal release within the billions out there, then this one should be near the top of your list. Go get it fellow weirdos!
Label: Maggot Stomp
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram
Scribed by: Matt Alexander
