Coffinworm - When All Became None: Album Review

Long time, no review. Time to end the dry spell, and Coffinworm is a good enough band to do so. Formed in 2007, these bunch of guys play Blackened Sludge. Sludge, being a genre that works well in combination with most metal genres, seems to work the best with Black Metal, since the atmospheric and hateful quality of both is added up. After a raw and rough EP titled "Great Bringer of Night", Coffinworm released their full length album in 2010

Not unlike their preceding work, When All Became None is a pretty dirty, misanthropic pile of dark, blackened Sludge. Coffinworm utilize slower, crushing sections very well, as they literally pound and pummel the eardrums, like you would expect from any Sludge. In addition to that, there are rather groovy, sometimes Crusty mid-paced sections scattered across the songs, which adds variety and keeps it interesting. What makes this band stand out, is the highly atmospheric feeling to the music, yet, it is very unlike Post-Metal/Atmospheric Sludge. The guitar effects invoke a rather Black Metal-like, dark and dismal atmosphere. There is no trace of Stoner tendencies in the music, and there are absolutely no bluesy passages and riffs, but the general atmosphere is spacey and psychedelic at times. The dissection of the quality of riffing isn't necessary here, since this is Sludge, and to be a half-credible Sludge band, you need riffs, so this band obviously assaults the listener with a barrage of crushing riffs, varying between Doom, Black and Crust styles. The guitar tone fits their style of music very well. It is sometimes reminiscent of Graves At Sea, sometimes reminds of Evoken. The general goal of creating a dark, macabre atmosphere with crushing riffs is achieved through it. The vocals are Black Metal 'growls', and sound powerful. There is only a little variety in them, and the vocalist sometimes switches to low growls temporarily. There is a sense of rage in them, but a slight feeling of evilness and grimness would have really helped. This is just a minor drawback here, since the vocals are not playing the biggest role here. The drums are luckily neither too high, nor too low, and are mixed really well. The cymbals don't hurt, the snare sounds perfect and crushing, and the bass is loud. The bass guitar is not distinctly audible unless paid attention to, but since the Lows are turned up in the mix, it doesn't seem too much of a drawback.

Song memorability is low on the first few listens, since there isn't much that helps differentiate between songs. Every song is similar, and there are almost no defining moments, except the intro to Spitting In Infinity's Asshole. This is the biggest drawback of this record, and it will take a few listens to actually dig in. that means bad news for people without enough patience, who will likely discard this, labeling it as monotonous. Disregarding the poor memorability factor on the first few listens, this album is really good, and Coffinworm effectively combine Black Metal, Crust and Sludge. Recommended.