Spirit Coffin Publishing

Floating, The Waves Have Teeth (Spirit Coffin 2022)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , ,

Sweden’s Floating debuts with a remarkably layered progressive death metal album, The Waves Have Teeth.

Floating is the duo Arvid Sjödin and Andreas Hörmark, both known for their work in the band Morbid Illusion. They decided to branch off with this new project after the former band split in order to “explore the possibilities of merging deformed and dissonant death metal the old-school way with their newly bolstered post-punk sensibilities.” The result is impressive and innovative.

There are six collateral songs on the new album. “The Seep” begins as a doom metal rumination then transforms smoothly into death metal that courses back and forth between melodic, traditional, somber, and groove. It is an intriguing combination in all of the instruments. You notice the shifts in the percussion, sure, but also in the guitars, rhythm, and vocals. It is captivating and entangling. “Gag” is a bit more linear, straight-forward horror metal song with a nice, twisted riff and periodic screeching and blast beats. “Pile of Birds” is practically a rambler, generating a great rolling guitar alongside sensational growling vocals. Feisty.

“No Eyes” lays down a prominent bass line and follows it through. The movement toward the middle is quiet almost to silence, and its reflective depth is the strength of the song. The gentle ending leads directly into “The Hill Will Know Him” where the music turns toward the esoteric and peculiarly frightening. There is no mistaking the unease that is introduced in advance of the harsher passages. It is a diabolical precursor for the final nine-minute movement, “The Floating Horror.” One song bleeds into the next throughout the album, and that transitional technique is most effective here. There are short and extended builds, as well as vast plateaus. The final flourish is muted and eccentric, delivering a final touch of uncertainty and one last shiver. Recommended.

The Waves Have Teeth is out now through Spirit Coffin Publishing on CD and digital. A tape version will follow in December.

Links.

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/floatingdeathmetal

Spirit Coffin Publishing, https://spiritcoffinpublishing.bigcartel.com/

© Wayne Edwards

Floating, The Waves Have Teeth (Spirit Coffin 2022)

Incinerate, Back To Reality (Spirit Coffin 2021)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , ,

The second album from Incinerate is Back To Reality and it is banger through and through.

Incinerate is a thrash metal trio from Antwerp, Belgium. There first album was Amazon Violence (2016). The band is Michael (drums), Matthias (guitar), and Nils (bass and vocals), and they play a no-nonsense brand of rough-and-ready thrash that throws the horns up for the roots of the genre while presenting their music in a way that translates perfectly into the world as it is now.

There are ten tracks on Back To Reality, mainly running right in the meat of radio-length. The set kicks off with a roar on the title track. A killer pace in the rhythm and punk-inspired vocals set your blood pumping to the red line. “Human Demise Ritual” has a catchy road rage hook that would work in a Mad Max movie and a stirring, whirling lead break. A snappy bass line leads you into the next track, “Internal Distress,” and it rolls right over you with gushing adrenaline.

One track is as raucous as the next and the entire album is a continuous pay-off. From the longest song (“Synthetic Blood Plasma Bath”) to the shortest (“Room 101”), this album is a treat for head bangers. The set is wrapped with a raw live track at the end, “Erased Earth,” to give you a preview of what you might see in an in-person space. This one is a winner from soup to nuts. Recommended.

The digital, CD, and vinyl has been available for a couple of months from Dead By Dawn Records and the cassette version has just been released by Spirit Coffin Publishing. The live track is only available on the cassette. Touch the links below.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://incinerate.bandcamp.com/

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/Incinerateantwerp

Spirit Coffin Publishing, https://spiritcoffinpublishing.bigcartel.com/

Incinerate, Back To Reality (Spirit Coffin 2021)