Cadaver Coils - Offerings of Rapture and Decay LP

CADAVER COILS is a Greek death metal band formed in 2021 that is actually the work of one person, Naos; “Offerings Of Rapture And Decay,” is his debut album.  I don’t know anything about this guy except for one important thing:  he fucking knows how to write death metal. This album reminds me a lot of VENOMOUS SKELETON’s album “Drowning In Circles.”  The bands don’t sound alike per say but they both have that occult, straight forward death metal feel wrapped up in a rough blackened atmosphere. Production/mixing is decayed and grimy but it works very well the project’s sound—it definitely has an ancient, dangerous atmosphere to the brutality contained within.  It captures each instrument perfectly, shining a black light on Naos’ obvious talent and knowledge of his abilities.

Indeed, this is an album that is wholly comfortable being what it is, nothing more and certainly nothing less.  And you know what?  Nothing wrong with that at all.  I appreciate this singular vision, this monument of death and sickness—and a lot of other people will too.  The six tracks have a run time of around 36 minutes—not super short nor is it overly long.  As such, this is an album you can dive into and enjoy every moment or it can be something you can throw on if you want to head bang like it’s 1985 for a few minutes. The first track, “Wings As Blades,” hits hard and fast right out of the gate.  When the forty second mark hits..it goes even faster.  The song goes from one brutal beat to the other and then those utterly neco death growls arrive to complete this zombified package.

The guitars and bass create a wall of sound of sorts yet the song still remains distinct enough to still retain it’s death metal roots without letting more atmospheric tendencies over take it. Parts of the song have huge doom metal vibes and I appreciate that. “Fruits of Avarice,” is just as caustic as the previous track but it still feels like the music is getting more and more ferocious, if that is even possible.  The drums compliment the riffs very well and got a long way in establishing the song’s forward momentum. There is a lot of groove in this one too and it helps bridge the gaps from the beginning to the doom inspired after the three minute mark.  The riffs here are well executed and flow smoothly to the next piece of the song.

“Splenetic Voices” is an interesting song—the beginning, and the later half, features what amounts to melody for a band of this time.  I also find this song has a heavy blackened atmosphere to it, as if I’m hearing something that I am risking myself to experience. The vocals get nasty after the three minute mark but so does the lead guitar, shredding a little bit  and ripping out the atmosphere into the minds of the listener, filling the space with arcane violence. “Tongue Of The Beast,” is an instrumental piece that I didn’t find quite as interesting as the tracks before or after.  It certainly isn’t bad but I found myself skipping it on repeated listens.

“Arid Sand Tomb,” drops bass bombs—the instrument is as heavy as any of the guitar, which is how death metal bass should be in the first place. More dismal melodies seep into the cracks but this time with a little flare that leads into the rumbling speed of the next couple minutes. The halfway point blows by so fast, even my ears got whiplash. “A Sovereign, A Monarch,” is the final track and ends the album on a high note.  In this case, the high note is moldy and monstrous death metal.  The lead guitar does a sterling job in being well crafted in its own right but also in bringing out the atmosphere of the other instruments.

All in all, CADAVER COILS’ “Offerings of Rapture And Decay,” is an impressive and towering debut.  The raw yet straight forward music inside will entice even the most picky metalheads. - metal-temple.com

- 350gsm Jacket on rough cardboard
- 140g Black Vinyl
- 180gsm offset paper Insert
- Limited to 400 copies