Coffinworm - When All Became None

...and from the bowels of hell (aka Indianapolis), COFFINWORM has arisen. probably the most exciting new act the midwest has to offer.

they play a blackened-yet-stoner-friendly style of mid-tempo sludge. metallic, grim, and satanic. "my insurrection versus your ressurection". death obsession. "putrid breath of life, how i hate you". elements of grindcore set them apart from a lot of what's going on in sludge and black-whatever right now (i.e. the whole post-rock craze). specifically, they utilize the high/low vocalization; the former being very scratchy and audible, and the latter being deep, guttural and muddy. similarly, the employ a fair amount of thrashing on the drums during certain riffs, but this is usually in accordance with the tremelo (read: blackened) guitar riffs. uniqueness aside, the attention paid to this record is mostly due to the fact that these guys just do what they're doing extremely well.

a mere 6 song LP with tracks spanning from six to eight minutes in length, When All Became None is not by any means an extensive work, but similar to SEVEN SISTERS OF SLEEP, it may be the perfect duration for a band that's just beginning to make their mark on the scene and heading out on tour in the near future. with no obligatory intro(s)/outro(s)/interludes, swelling feedback, or long droning bridges/soundscapes - at least none lasting for more than 20 seconds - COFFINWORM hits the ground running and doesn't let up until the last deafening note. again, i would liken it to grind in this aspect, or at least a more "punk" side of sludge.

one of the coolest things about this release is how transparent it is. what i mean is that nothing is lost or overpowered in the mixing. nothing is notably driving anything else (aside from the tightness of the rhythm section), nothing is drowned out or made indistinguishable. i would anticipate that seeing them live (which i plan on doing August 20th @ Bottom Lounge!) would either match the sound of the record or exceed it. there is no studio magic holding this album together, and there won't be a box full of pedals necessary to replicate the pervasive gloom and doom. COFFINWORM is just simply a really good band, as a band.

personal favs: Blood Born Doom, Spitting in Infinity's Asshole, *The Sadistic Rites of Count Tabernacula.
*rager.

dudes are all over: myspace, bloggin', world-renowned facebook, and a link to their own website has been included in this post's title. kablaam.

SONS AND DAUGHTERS [AND GENDER VARIANTS] OF SATAN, COME TO ME.