(written by Islander)
The Canadian death metal band Coprolith clearly have no desire to mislead anyone about the kind of music they make. Their name is a word for fossilized feces. The music on their self-titled debut demo from 2023 (reviewed here) was grotesquely ugly and maniacally marauding. Their forthcoming debut album is named Putrescence. And just look at that cover artwork by Adam Kindred!
All the signals are there, open and obvious, signals warning of rotten-to-the-core death metal that’s foul, festering, and ferocious, the kind of dreadful musical monstrosities that greedily feast upon the intestines of such predecessors as Grave, Demigod, and Incantation.
So no, no experienced metalheads will be misled by what the new album offers, but many will relish just how expertly Coprolith bring their horrid visions to life. We have an example in our premiere today of the album’s opening track, a song called “Sentenced to the Grave“, in advance of the album’s co-release by Me Saco Un Ojo Records and Rotted Life Records.
As a way of welcoming listeners to the new album with this song, Coprolith throw down a gauntlet of sheer musical horror. Its opening moments sound like the band have opened the door into another dimension, a freezing one in which apparitions miserably moan, quaver, shiver, and squeal.
But after that, the music shifts, becoming monstrous instead of eerily ethereal. Ragged and ruinous riffing creates a viciously gutting impact above decapitating snare blows, groaning bass notes, and cavern-dwelling roars. The music also venomously sizzles, insidiously squirms, and brutishly heaves and stomps.
The drums also power up into a bludgeoning and blasting race; those horrid vocals flare in expressions of ravenous madness; and the riffing whirs like circle saws feeding on flesh – an experience both violent and dismal.
The drums briefly vanish, and the notes become even more horrifically oppressive as they crawl. When the drums return, the music manifests as a gargantua that methodically crushes, but the shrill lead guitar brings specters to life again, leading the way toward a cataclysmic finale.
Putrescence will be released on July 3rd — on vinyl LP by Me Saco Un Ojo, and on CD by Rotted Life. Find pre-orders via the links below, and also lend your mangled ears to the first single, the wonderfully named “Possessed by Incoherent Violent Suggestions“, which closes the album.
PRE-ORDER:
https://www.mesacounojo.com/
https://mesacounojo.bandcamp.com/album/putrescence
https://rottedlife.bandcamp.com/album/putrescence
COPROLITH:
https://coprolith.bandcamp.com