Japan’s premier sludgy death/doomers Coffins are back once more, with a new EP entitled Craving to Eternal Slumber. The prolific band has already fired off two split albums this year (as well as a 2 disc compilation called Perpetual Penance), but that is the band’s seeming calling card – offering up plenty for fans go gobble up.
If you’ve heard Coffins in the past, you know what to expect from Craving to Eternal Slumber. There’s no drastic departures or musical experimentation. Just primitive, filthy, death metal that has a tendency to lurch as much as it springs ahead. Certainly not a bad thing for the band – the sprawling tempo seems to suit their needs best. Allowing for some Celtic Frost influences on “Tyrant,” it seems one of the highlights of the album, alongside the more mid-tempo crushing of “Stairway to Torment.” The 7-minute title track gives the closest the band will come to a funeral dirge on the album, and effectively pushes all the right riffs to keep things from getting stale.
10 years in, Coffins isn’t going to really change much up in their game. For better or for worse, you know what you will be getting with Coffins, and perhaps it’s better served in these short bursts (EPs/singles) than full-lengths, keeping the length down in order to keep the energy up and the listener focused on everything that Coffins does well: sludge, dirge, and keep their death metal simple and full of disturbing charm. If you’ve dug their stuff in the past, you’re bound to enjoy Craving to Eternal Slumber as well.