COFFIN STORM
COFFIN STORM “Arcana Rising”
by Octopi Mills
Here we have a sort of new supergroup with Apollyon, (AURA NOIR/LAMENTED SOULS), Bestial Tormentor (LAMENTED SOULS) and the one of a kind Fenriz from DARKTHRONE and many other projects. The promo states that there was an 80s inspiration from PENTAGRAM, METALLICA, CANDLEMASS, early KREATOR and nods to PARADISE LOST and the mighty doom legends CATHEDRAL. I must add Fenriz has been involved in the new DARKTHRONE album as well, which was a great album in it's own and around the same week BURZUM began releasing new "singles" so this comes as another surprise, though it was released before the latter mentioned things.
The album cover looks as if it could have been on some old VHS horror cover and the first track "Over Frozen Moors" has Fenris tackling some wild, unique vocal stylings at times akin the golden days of ISENGARD (My personal favorite of all his previous projects). The title track follows in the same manner as the first in style, making their way with their own take on early metal of yore, and adding an enthusiasm of greatness to the fray. The sound and production are great, and the music is tightly wound with the strange and eccentric touch of Fenriz lyrical and vocal style. The feel of the bass has a good retro sound that adds to the music, making it heavier and hard. It sounds like these fellows have really let loose and had fun in the making of the album yet keeping serious enough in stoking the fires of the old school metal they obviously live and breathe. It is almost like they became young again on this album and it really shows the range of Fenriz' vocal capabilities while still staying in a certain framework he has made for it. Though there are six songs the length of the album is over 37 minutes, meaning the running time of some of the songs are longer than most but that's not unusual in any metal sense.
"Eighty Five and Seven Miles" takes a turn to old doom somehow and makes for an interesting ride through the pound and gallop of a song that could have came out somewhere in the 80's, perhaps even 1987 or before. I am not sure if old METAL CHURCH is an inspiration but it doesn't matter. "Clockwork Cult" ends the album and sounds in vein of the rest and one can easily realize the album works as a whole; it’s something meant to be on vinyl. This wound up being a good listen and something I would recommend to those in the know of the styles and musicians.