Album Review: Coscradh - Carving The Causeway To The Otherworld
Reviewed by Sam Jones
When it comes to burgeoning back/death metal in the modern age few bands hold a candle to Coscradh, the Irish, Dublin-hailing act that has only gone from strength to strength with the succeeding years. Formed in 2015 their early output saw a Demo and EPs though it wouldn’t be until 2022 that we’d finally have their first full length: Nahanagan Stadial. A blistering release I thoroughly enjoyed given it was the work I discovered them through, prepared for their performance at Necropolis, in London, come 2024. With little time to go until their second album, Carving The Causeway To The Otherworld, officially releases, here is a chance to see what these Irish lads can do. This new release also sees Coscradh make the great leap onto 20 Buck Spin’s illustrious roster and, with February 20th in mind, let’s see what Coscradh have for us this time round. I was more than curious.
Upon beginning, Coscradh’s sound is massive, enveloping the senses thoroughly as riffs sharpened by scythe and malice beckon us. The atmosphere they conjure is a far cry of the blistering and boiling vistas their contemporaries summon; Coscradh ready for war and place you squarely amongst the frontlines, they expect you to die, they’d be surprised if you didn’t and as they get going you’ll feel your teeth harden, newborn fire is kindled within yet even when their tempo is yet to reach its maximum their sound never abates or shows pity. As a result when the band do play at their fastest it’s nothing short of relentless but, since you’ve been primed for battle, the escalation doesn’t feel overwhelming.
But as for speed we must delve further. When Coscradh get going there feels nought that may stop it; their guitar work reaches such speed at times their performance is akin to light-speed stabbing than simply ripping riffs off the fretboard. You’ll want to pay close attention to how the riffs are played rather than the mere tempo they’re performed with. The multitude of licks performed inject copious amounts of blackened flair and while they’ll seem disconnected from the primary guitar attack, they’re present enough to give the secondary guitar weight and purpose. In this manner, Coscradh layer their sound competently without having to slam the inclusion of a second guitar in your face. One guitar provides the punch, another brings the blade.
Do you hear that thunder? That omnipresent trembling permeating the record at every turn? Those are the drums, and whether we hear the bass drums, Tom-toms, cymbals etc, Coscradh’s drumming isn’t about to show mercy whatsoever. We’ve established this record is one wholly comfortable with speed and slows when necessity or songwriting deems it. I appreciate that the blast beats aren’t thrown in our faces to risk blotting out other aspects of the drums; they’re ferocious and impossible to ignore but the mix has granted the bass drums their time in the sun too. Far from dominated by blast beats the drumming is wonderfully malleable, giving every element their moment, and even the tamest cymbal strike herein crashes with tenacity reminiscent to cannon fire’s tumult.
I can already see many, when this year reaches its close, looking back on Coscradh and, more specifically, Ciarán Ó Críodáin’s performance as a veritable standout for 2026. It’s through his vocal performance that I feel Coscradh draws the majority of its blackened fervour; the speed and snarl and savagery his timbre elicits is frightening. If ever an image of evil were to manifest for metal in early 2026 we’d only need to see Coscradh perform. Yet even when the band pull back on the ferocity the vocals don’t renege, if anything the quelling of piercing ruffs enables the vocals to stand out all the more. I can imagine newcomers being utterly bowled over by the intensity and ceaseless madness Coscradh perform with whether via riffs, drumming or vocals. This is a band out, not for blood because they’ve slavered themselves in it but, for deification in archaic viscera. The sole purpose of this album is to de-glove God and, doing so, lacerate infinity’s unfathomable vectors.
In conclusion, this is one of the most evil works of metal I’ve encountered in a long time. It feels like Coscradh aren’t attempting to write malevolence, it just pours out of them with astonishing ease. It’s also the savagery their sound possesses, the rampant lunacy their tempo, their aesthetic, bleeds with. Should one cut the flesh upon Coscradh I doubt blood would flow, nothing viscous at least, but sheer evil and apathetic slaughter instead. That’s the crux of the record in a term: Apathy. This record does not care what you think, feel, believe, want or do; Coscradh are coming for your soul and will tear it squarely out of your bones and there is nothing in this corporeal plain that can stop them. For early 2026 Carving The Causeway To The Otherworld will be on many people’s rotation, and for a newer band this is easily the record that deserves to smash them into the major leagues. 20 Buck Spin are on to a winner.
