By DJ Astrocreep

Three-piece sludgy drone act Swamp Coffin hail from Rotherham, something which may, in fact, inspire the sense of hopelessness and forboding that emanates out of this recording.   A four-track EP that times out at not far shy of 35 minutes is a strong opening showing, if a band can get it right. Swamp Coffin have, most definitely, achieved exactly that.

The droning bass work combines well with the gutteral vocal style employed by Jon Rhodes, who takes up joint vocal and guitar duty, performing some pretty admirable riffage in addition to the pounding drums and aforementioned bass work to add a further layer of complexity to their sound, lifting it above simple drone and sludge into something a bit more neck breaking still.

All four tracks are their own songs, which is refreshing to see, as some bands in their infancy and of a similar musical bent can be too easily guilty of focusing on a sound rather than showcasing their abilities and it is of definite credit to the three-piece that they avoid this, while still achieving a sense of fitting quite easily in amongst their peers. Shawn Denton’s bass contains enough fuzz, whilst having an almost groove-like taint to his playing style, to put the likes of Crowbar’s Todd Strange on edge, while David Wistow’s drumming has the technical aspects required to play in this style without going into anything over complicated that would risk destabilising the band’s rhythm.

It’s a great EP that will certainly by challenging for a spot in my end of year lists. Recommended for fans of Crowbar, Down, Black Sabbath and Electric Wizard, this should prove a good acquisition to a fan of doom, sludge, drone or similar genres.

  • ‘Flatcap Bastard Features’ is released on 23 August. You can get your copy HERE.
  • Swamp Coffin play The Hive in Friday 23 August, Record Junkee in Sheffield on Sunday 15 September (supporting Coffins) and GizzardFest III at The Trades in Rotherham on Saturday 26 October.

https://www.facebook.com/swampcoffinband/

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