Album Review: Coffin Mulch - Spectral Intercession
Reviewed by Sam Jones
Coffin Mulch are a name that has been growing in the last few years amidst the UK death metal scene, and interestingly out of Scotland too. It’d been some time since a major death metal name has been borne out of the Scottish lands. Formed in 2018 and out of one of their central locations, Glasgow, Coffin Mulch have had a steady slew of material churned out yet had never released a studio album. However, come June 30th and through Memento Mori, Coffin Mulch shall finally unveil their first full length work titled Spectral Intercession. Prior to this, the band have otherwise released a 2021 EP, Septic Funeral, which was received very well as well as a number of Singles. Yet, Coffin Mulch finally prepare to showcase what they’re made of, and how their mettle holds up against the slew of numerous, new extreme metal acts the UK is spewing right now.
If you thought Coffin Mulch were going to ease you into their soundscape, into their debut full length release, the band throw that option through the window right from the offset. A maddening vocal cry, coupled with wailing guitars and soundscape writ with horror assaults your senses from the opening second. Soon enough, the onslaught abates but not before Coffin Mulch unveil songwriting reminiscent to Swedish death metal wherein their riffs and track progression recalls the buzzsaw tone, albeit heftier in bass and grander in scope. A refined and tidy death metal attack this is not, for Coffin Mulch are wondrously content at hurling us reeling from our comfort zones and into something rasping and malicious. Yet, out of this soundscape there’s a clear showcasing of planned songwriting occurring, where sequences take place with evident purpose, towards crafting tracks that feel simultaneously erratic and coherently ordered.
Amongst the slew of extreme metal were bombarded by these days, Coffin Mulch’s approach to death metal is oddly refreshing. Granted, it’s far from anything we haven’t encountered before at all but it’s the fact that Coffin Mulch opted for this style of riffs and tone at all. Whatever reasoning came to this guitar style I am not complaining about, for Coffin Mulch render their songwriting with a fat dirtier and dangerous edge than their contemporaries otherwise propagate. They aren’t seeking to mutilate their audience through a refined and polished aesthetic, but in this instance they’ve sought to establish themselves as a muddier, more infectious counterpart to the bolder, thicker death metal we’ve been receiving greatly lately. Riffs may ring into the distance owing to the choice of Swedish-inspired tone, yet sequences of riffs still emanate power and their resonance lasts long after the initial chord or note has been played.
It’s one of the few times the vocals and riffs’ synergy perfectly aligns in a record where one feels ideally suited to the other, towards the record’s ultimate purpose. After watching their performance at Necropolis back in late May, I can confirm the band feel like a collective, singular unit and we’re certainly one of the most unique, standout acts of the day. The raw, rabid nature of the vocal delivery complements the songwriting, equally as savage, and helps to round the band out in my eyes, and naturally in the eyes of many oncoming fans. The vocals stop for no-one and help to exemplify the sense that the band aren’t looking to take prisoners nor are they guiding your hand through their work; you can feel the sweat and bile and energy that their frontman is throwing j to his performance. A stationary, rudimentary vocal performance this is not.
The speed this record plays at is also incremental. It’d worth noting how Spectral Intercession barely scrapes the half hour mark and yet in that time Coffin Mulch still bless us with eight full songs. As a result, some of these are shorter than others and nowhere is this more apparent than the under two-minute “In the Grip Of Death”, where it’s neither a slower piece nor some mid-record break and instrumental. Regardless whether we’re being subjected to a longer or briefer track, the intensity Coffin Mulch bring to their performances never wane nor do the drums slacken their resolve. The drumming is pretty contemporary and, while it does jump to blast beat levels here and there, it chooses to opt for a more grounded form of performance where the power derived from the band’s performance is overall siphoned from their collective assault, as opposed to thanks from a singular instrumental implementation. That said though, the drums, much like the riffs, have been granted the freedom to let their sound move through the spaces this record does not occupy and therefore Tom-Tom strikes, already taut, feel vaster and cymbal strikes are blessed with crisper clarity.
In conclusion, Coffin Mulch properly themselves as a shining leader of the UK death metal scene, and additionally as a premiere act in Scottish extreme metal. A record does nothing except what is described on the tin and yet still conveys all the unique strength their sound harnesses, Spectral Intercession is a blinding record that refuses to comply and hold itself back for the sake of others or their fans. Barely surpassing thirty minutes, it’s a whirlwind of an experience as the band take us a variety of shorter and lengthier pieces all the while hardly lessening the impact and power their performance possesses. If their wild Necropolis performance was anything to judge Coffin Mulch by, these guys are an act to watch for while they’re one of the new guard, their passion is steeped in older, fervent death metal given a fresh coat of paint.
