EP Review: Coffin Mulch & Mick Harris - In Dub
Reviewed by Matthew Williams
I first encountered Glasgow’s Coffin Mulch at a tiny venue in Manchester called Aatma, back in July 2023. The gig was delayed due to an almighty downpour leaking onto the stage, but Coffin Mulch proved that evening that they were a force to be reckoned with and one of the best of the New Wave of British Death Metal.
They released the stunning “Spectral Intercession”, and a copy sits proudly in my vinyl collection at home, and I also had the pleasure of interviewing singer Al after the pulsating set at Damnation Festival in the November of that year. So, I can say with no uncertainty, that I’m a fan of the band.
Mick Harris of course, needs no introduction. The drummer in Napalm Death up until 1991, he coined the term “grindcore”, popularised the blast beat and his legacy is there for all to see. So, this collaboration intrigued me massively, New School meets Old School, with Harris adding his own twist on Coffin Mulch’s music.
There are only two songs on the EP and if you didn’t have a headache before you listened, then you will afterwards, as the caustic nature of the industrial noise emanating from the speakers will split your brain in two. “Chromatic Dissolution” is akin to a slow torture, that repeatedly bludgeons you to inflict as much pain as possible. The riffs clash with heavy synth laden beats and it creates an evil, eerie atmosphere that fades away at the end of it.
“Cease to Exist” has that nightmarish flashback quality to the beginning with a screaming vocal textured in the background teasing at more to follow. If you need someone to confess to anything, then this is the song to play on repeat, as I’d confess to anything if subjected to this repeatedly. It’s another brutal slab of perfectly executed noise, that pushes the boundaries of death metal further than before and demonstrates what experimentation is all about, seeing what direction you can take music, and then bounce it off the walls to see where it goes next.
The music is crushing in the delivery, and the electronic soundscapes are scraping and piercing whilst leaving you wanting more. It's great to see one of the innovators of the grindcore scene working alongside a band who are at the forefront of the current British Death Metal Scene, and this will no doubt earn rave reviews, and also whet the appetite to see where they can go next.
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