You’ve Got Coffins in My Noothgrush, You’ve Got Noothgrush in My Etc.

I liked Coffins’ latest full length, The Fleshland. Hell, I am on record on the internet as saying I do. But there’s something about the Coffins on their split with bog-dwellers Noothgrush that feels much more comfortable. Coffins show up, hurl down two gnarly death/doom carcasses, then get the hell out. On a full-length, they’re an excellent, filthy death metal band. When they’re ornamenting some stuff by another band on a split, they sound like one of the best there is. Maybe it’s an issue of comparison (the curdled riffs that kick in at the beginning of “Drown in Revelation” are a stark contrast to the troglodytic doom of Noothgrush) but really, I think deeper than that: Coffins work best when they focus on songs instead of albums.

Yes, I know that’s a shocking statement, but it’s true. Fleshland has some fine, fine, very fine death/doom, but on the whole, it feels a little overstuffed. But there’s no risk of overstuffing on their split with Noothgrush: “Drown in Revelation” is centered around a primal groove that’s a few beers away from starting a fistfight, and “The Wretched Path” is a parade of downright-fun doom riffs. That’s 100% of the songs, and they’re all nasty. The industry’s move away from singles in the last two or three decades has left bands like Coffins in the dust. But that doesn’t diminish their greatness: Coffins have mastered the untethered satellites of songs that show up on splits or in clusters on EPs. Maybe a singles collection like Fucked Up’s Epics in Minutes or Misery Index’s Pulling Out the Nails (or this) is the best full-length medium for the band. If they disagree,  when you hear they’re putting out an EP or split, get right the fuck on that.

The Coffins/Noothgrush comes out November 25 on Southern Lord. Get it here.