How can you go wrong with a band named Coffin Mulch? While I’ve used these introductory paragraphs time and time again to restate my love for OSDM, it doesn’t hurt that this band’s morbid moniker really tickles my fancy. While “Coffin” isn’t a particularly inventive inclusion, “mulch” adds an entirely new, evocative flavor to this putrescent pile. Is the mulch intended, perhaps, to entice the seeping coffin below to sprout zombified greenery? Or, better yet, is the mulch itself made from that nitrogen-rich churn composed of damp soil and viscous coffin offal? The band themselves don’t offer an explanation, and that’s just fine. I’m here for the simple things on their full-length debut Spectral Intercession: buzzsaw guitars, muddy riffs, emotive, guttural vocals, and a general disgust for all things neat, tidy, and living. But do Coffin Mulch deliver on the grimy goods as their name would suggest?
Even though Coffin Mulch have been treading the blood-splattered boards since 2018, and it’s taken one demo, one EP, two singles, and four years for these Scottish miscreants to finally deliver their first full-length album. And deliver they do, especially on their influences, which are legion, for they are many. Most essential is the comparison to the mighty Asphyx, drawn as it must be thanks to Coffin Mulch’s dalliances with death doom and their vocals, which evoke the unique guttural shrieks of one Martin van Drunen. But there are also hefty dollops of Swede death giants like Entombed and their chainsaw chuggery (especially the Left Hand Path-inspired screams on album opener “Spectral Intercession”). Don’t forget the doses of Deicide, some atmospheric, doomy elements borrowed from the Paradise Lost playbook, and why not a drop or two of Bolt Thrower? Coffin Mulch put these influences to good use without overplaying their hand, effectively melding them into a lean, mean death metal machine.
While I’ve already mentioned the Entombed-esque screams on album opener “Spectral Intercession,” the track also serves as the introduction to Coffin Mulch’s firm reliance on that classic buzzsaw guitar sound, which evokes the HM-2 devotion of early-90s death metal while tossing in warbly vox, technical guitar work and solid riffage. Follow up track “Into the Blood” reveals lead growler Al’s ability to imbue his deathend grunts n’ growls with plenty of character. The track also delivers a trudging, buzzy, doomified riff, which reappears in different forms on subsequent tracks, from “Mental Suicide” to closer “Eternal Enslavement.” “Gateway to the Unseen” may be my favorite track, though, replete as it is with double bass, a thick, grungy riff, and martial drumming that drives toward a memorable chorus and culminates in a welcome bass interlude. An interlude, I might add, that’s just one of several moments where the four-string behemoth is given a well-deserved spotlight.
While Coffin Mulch have firmly planted their flag in the gore-soaked OSDM sand and performed with aplomb, there are aspects of Spectral Intercession that lessen its overall impact. While I enjoy this record and will certainly return to it, the band’s approach suffers from a tough one-two punch: the lack of a tasty few hooks or more than one memorable chorus is emphasized by that unrelenting buzzing guitar and uniform drumming. Taken together, it’s no surprise the listener may encounter several moments of stagnation. Even though repeat listens help address this issue, it remains one throughout. This complaint is granted some added potency because the drums not only feel overly uniform, but at times, they feel utterly defanged. While the bass, guitar, and vocals are all given moments to shine, the drums are often relegated to the backseat. It’s a shame, too, because when drummer Fraser is given room to explore, he delivers memorable performances, most notably on “Gateway to the Unseen.”
Coffin Mulch have delivered plenty of deathened goods on their debut album; enough to keep my head banging, my face scowling and my fist pumping. These grotesque Glaswegians have delivered a solid platter of quality, tightly-honed OSDM, and that’s enough to earn my earnest approval. The score is lowered, however, based on the minor moments of monotony that creep in as the album unfolds and the seemingly restrained force of the percussion. Taken as a single, unified whole, though, I’d consider Spectral Intercession a solid success. Let’s hope Coffin Mulch don’t wait another four years to drop their next ode to the old school. But while we wait, lend me a hand, won’t you? It’s getting late and this steaming compost pile won’t spread itself.
Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Memento Mori
Websites: coffinmulch.bandcamp.com | instagram.com/coffinmulch
Releases Worldwide: June 30th, 2023
