Review by JD on July 22, 2013.

Japan has been known for trying to do things just a little different than the rest of the world usually does, unblinkingly putting it in their own sort of spin on practically everything. A four piece outfit hailing from the always expanding Metropolis of Tokyo is such a band, redefining a style of extreme metal into their own concept.

Death/Doom outfit based in Tokyo Coffins is an act that certainly makes me sit up and take a very close look at them. I am intrigued with the musical landscape of Japan and this surprising act hits the top of my list. Heavy, ponderous riffs and acid vocals that are growling explosions of pure viciousness – Coffins certainly puts the term ‘Heavy’ back into Heavy Metal, to the tenth power and even beyond.

Out of the nine tracks that are on the album, I seem to gravitate to a couple in particular. One is the bulldozer like song 'The Colossal Hole' that proves that you can be so brutally heavy and yet have this sense of melody as well. The other track is the rather disturbingly harsh 'No Saviour' because of its strong Death Metal hook and intense Doom Metal breaks leaves you wanting more even as it is fading off at the end.

This album just might land on my top ten this year. I have never come across such a ultra-heavy album that holds such brutal combination of caustic lyrics and barbaric riffing that seems never to leave my playlist. With Coffins on a very smart label now, I think the next release just might vault them higher than they ever thought they might achieve. Doom/Death just might have new emperors to be the ones to beat.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 10
Production: 9
Originality 9.5
Overall: 9.5

Rating: 9.4 out of 10

Review by Roslyn G on June 30, 2013.

Coffins, the Death/Doom Metal kings are back with their new EP, "The Fleshlands". This is the bands fourth LP with an expected North American release date of July 9th, 2013. The metal kings will numb fans to the bone as they dominate the metal world with their memorizing riffs and terrorizing vocals.

Looking at the album cover makes one cringe and the title is less than appetizing. It is not long before the metal kings take listeners to hell. The first track, ‘Here Comes Perdition’ begins with a creepy, sinister instrumental that awakens listeners in hell, and drags them deeper with heavy guitar riffs and demonic vocals that chills the bone. The second track, ‘Hellbringer’ does not short change listeners and begins with a devilish scream that reminds listeners that hell is real, followed by swift percussion, and the electric guitar riffs that swallow the album down and deeper into hell. The album is dark and sinister, with a feeling of never-ending torment that at times is very numbing. The guitar riffs vary and do not fade into the same steady riffs, but include variations of elements through the album. As the album progresses, the feeling of being tormented and chased deeper into hell is prevalent.

The sounds on the album complement each other very well, from the deep, demonic vocals, to the crisp percussion, straight through to the varying guitar riffs. The album ends with the track, ‘Tormentopia,’ that gets inside your head and ‘torments’ you. The harsh, heavy, demonic sound of Coffins is not for everyone, but for those who dare to listen can expect one hell of a ride.

Conclusion. "The Fleshlands" will definitely surpass any previous album from Coffins, and if you like your music heavy, loud, and want to bang your head for days-this album is for you. And you just may have a few sleepless nights as well.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 8
Atmosphere: 8
Production: 8
Originality: 8
Overall: 8

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by Felix on May 28, 2023.

Not only in terms of heavy metal, Eastern Europe stood in the shadow of the western half of the continent for a long time. But after the fall of the Iron Curtain, it became more and more evident that the metal scenes of the eastern countries also have a lot of interesting bands to discover. Death Karma joins the ranks of original groups from the east. Inter alia because of personnel overlaps, their musical preference lies in close proximity to that of Cult of Fire. The full-length also demonstrates once again that Master´s Hammer had a big influence on the Czech and Slovak scene. In particular the aura of “The History…” equals that of their masterpieces “Ritual” and “The Jilemnice Occultist”. For example, listen to the short straightforward parts of the opener. They sound like a forgotten recording of the Czech forefathers.

The production unites keyboards and guitars in order to shine with a very dense and intensive sound. It is based on the mighty instrumentation which leads to a powerful and thrilling experience of horror. With these requirements, the burial rituals develop their full effect in an irresistible manner. One has hardly any chance to escape the funeral atmosphere, because the musical implementation reeks of the smell of death without interruption. It is not that kind of rottenness that (Swedish) death metal bands evoke. Nevertheless, the songs seem to be the soundtrack of a funeral which takes place on a grey day in November. This does not mean that the music itself is dreary or monotonous. The group does not suffer from a lack of ideas. Do not be confused by the fact that the band has recorded only six songs. The musicians have integrated a lot of fantastic breaks so that the album does not show any deficiencies. The surprising effervescent keyboard line of the fifth track, which occurs after 58 seconds, illustrates the unexpected twists of the compositions perfectly. By the way, this piece is a very well designed instrumental.

Death Karma takes us on a trip around the world. They want to make us familiar with the special characteristics of different cultures in dealing with death. Countries like India or Mexico are represented. But I have to admit that the compositional approach of the single tracks stays more or less the same during the entire album. I am fine with this, because the constant emanation of transience matches very well with the concept of this full-length. And I do not want to hide that the band has involved rarely surfacing oriental or Indian sound sequences. All in all, the quality of the songwriting is admirably high. Only the third track needs three minutes in order to reach the amazing level of the remaining songs. This is just a minor flaw in view of the highlights such as “China – Hanging Coffins”. It leaves no questions unanswered while offering powerful and captivating guitar lines, unleashed drumming and atmospheric keyboard sounds. The majestic overall impression is the result of the stylish arrangements of harsh sections and mystic interludes. The latter ones are characterised by spheric keyboards which reveal a surreal aura. They stress the mysterious feeling of entering a new dimension.

Of course, you are free to dislike the outcome that the band presents. You can reject its lyrical content as well as the music itself. But you will not have the right to call this album insubstantial, half-baked or uninspired. It is an outstanding work in its own way. The only question is whether you like the combination of keyboards with extreme metal. I guess that no supporter of the black / death genre will deny that the sinister flair of “The History…” hits the mark. Hopefully, its second part will be published before I die. I am curious to see what comes next; Australia? Luxembourg? The Fiji Islands? However, I want to be buried in Germany. But from my side, this project definitely has no priority.

Rating: 9.2 out of 10

Review by Yener on May 30, 2019.

I have to be honest, I was never the biggest Decapitated fan. That doesn't mean that I don’t own all the albums physically, because I do. But up until this point, with a few exceptions, they've never truly clicked with me. Never sucked me in.

I’m still not quite sure what it is about this album, but after ignoring for well over a year, for some reason I decided to pay it another visit. And ever since then it hasn’t let me go. A lot of people will disagree with me on this, but I really didn't enjoy Organic Hallucinations, besides a few tracks. On the whole I found it to be a snooze fest, so I didn't have much hopes for this album, especially since the band tragically lost Vitek and Covan.

The band Vogg has put together since then seems to be perfectly capable, and let’s be honest, most of us here are for the guitar and drum work. While new drummer Paul is not as distinct as Vitek was, he still does a fabulous job throughout the album. Some of the most memorable parts on this album for me are the drum parts, which is not an easy thing to achieve.

The first blow is delivered in the shape of “The Knife”, and all across the board it’s a solid, enjoyable track. This is when the listener will hear Rafal for the first time, and in my opinion, he does a fine job. A step away from your usual guttural, boring death metal vocals, he holds his own just fine, with the rest of the band grinding away your senses.

Throughout the album Vogg experiments with clean sounds, and also quite a lot of different chord structures and shapes. This is a very welcome addition rather than the usual death metal far of fast trem picked or palm muted riffs. The guitar playing on this album is very organic, as can be heard on the title track. It’s also pretty damn creative as well, and everything flows together quite seamlessly.

“Homo Sum” is the single from the record, and one of the best tracks to be found on here. I remember when the album first leaked, people criticized it for just basically being an open E string and being too simple. This song was also my first taste of the album, and I simply didn't get it at first. It seemed boring and repetitive, though that is incredibly far from the truth. The thing that makes this song shine is not the intro, or the verses, it’s Vogg’s incredible solo section. Backed up by an awesome pulsating bass, and driving drums, it’s like a trance. Reminds me of the solos Meshuggah used to do back in the day, where everything had a very “spacey” feel to it. This isn't a bad thing at all, and Vogg’s tone here, his touch, and just everything just makes it work. Once this section of the song clicked with me, finally, the rest of the album just made a whole lot more sense for some reason. I suppose it’s because it was here I realized that Decapitated weren't the old Decapitated anymore. They weren't trying to be. They had evolved.

The album, somehow, seems to pick up momentum halfway through, and “404” is simply awesome. The groovy riff at the beginning, the weird verse riff and everything just make it very interesting to listen to. However, it’s the ending that really makes it shine. At 3:37 the band steps on the gas, and off they go into what is perhaps their closest venture into older Decapitated territory, but with a twist. Again, Vogg’s solo with just the drum and bass backing him is top notch. Excellent execution, and flawless climax. It then erupts into one of the most memorable sections on the album. Outstanding stuff. 

I don’t really know what made me come back to this album, but I’m sure glad I did. It’s a fantastic evolution for the band in my opinion. It has a lot of new twists and turns, as well as nods to the Decapitated of old, such as on “Pest”. It sounds like there is something in here for everyone, though it’s a shame more people don’t give this album more of a chance. It’s definitely worth coming back to, so if you own it, come back to it with a good set of earphones and a fresh set of ears. This is not to be missed. It’s well worth the effort to sit down with it and to fully understand what it has to offer. This was an incredibly important album for Vogg and Decapitated, and I’m just glad he had the courage to try something new rather than resting on his previous success.

Top notch.

Rating: 9.2 out of 10

Review by Alex on July 14, 2019.

Never been the biggest supporter of melodic death metal, though I enjoyed most of Amon Amarth’s early discography, and some albums by lesser known bands, most recently Penetrum "Instrument of Delusion". If I did indulge beyond prior to the latter mentioned, it was usually short-lived moments of bliss found on Dark Tranquility’s "Fiction" and "Character" albums and going no further than a song or two, or in some cases a guitar riff. My lack of interest in melodic death metal evolved into a growing hatred of the genre, all thanks to Arch Enemy………………. Having heard some Hypocrisy songs, I could still not conjure the urge to revisit the genre despite the high pedigree of their music. With some exceptions, bands formed after 1999 under the melodeath sub genre were disdainfully disregarded and as far as my likeness for Amon Amarth's music; it grew faint post "Twilight of the Thunder God", thus signifying an official disassociation and reluctance towards the genre. 

The band Exhumation (Greece) never appeared within my musical cross-hairs during the time sipping Amon Amarth's beer, and if the term was mentioned either directly or indirectly, my mind would apply its own auto-correction feature by replacing Exhumation with Exhumed. All sobered-up now due to melodeath’s cheering descent into terminal deterioration, I had the fortune of obtaining a copy of Exhumation’s 1997 debut record Seas of Eternal Silence; hit play and was immediately bombarded by a torrent of the very essence of melodic death metal. At that point my relationship with the sub-genre, though barely a glance in its direction, continued where it came to a halt. The gears of what little intimacy we shared had forced itself from a position of rusted dormancy to a renewed oiled operational state; and for 46 minutes 1 second, the only band synonymous with quintessential melodic death metal was Exhumation.  

Seas of Eternal Silence is another one of Greece's best kept secrets, crafted by Exhumation, a band birthed in 1990, just around the time thrash metal started gaining considerable traction in South America. Seas of Eternal Silence sounds like the genre being put through a crafting process. Add keyboards, splinters of groove metal and thrash to its DNA, melodeath is carved from the womb of a sub-genre that would evolve for better and worse; more towards the latter. Already liking the prospects of the intro during its build towards the melodic megalith 'Seas of Eternal Silence', whilst rampantly marching through passages of diligently created ear-worm, this track alone was enough to keep me bedazzled by qualitative guitar leads, solos, and keyboards pulsing with atmosphere and a vocal delivery that stretches elaborately to convey the effect of the imagery. Barely grabbing the ledge by a pinky finger on the mountainous level erected, Exhumation intensifies the momentum, this time catapulting towards a focused ransacking thrash metal attack with some ambiance still present on ‘Dreamy Recollection’. What is striking about the recordings on Seas of Eternal Silence is the manner in which the instrumentation is handled, all notes, all sections played appear intrinsic to the musicians due to the uninterrupted flow they possess. When you hear a guitar lead or a solo, it sounds effortless, as though Panos and Marios are kicking-back in a rocking chair playing without a worry. Same can be said about John’s vocals, Thomas’ keyboards and Pantelis’ drumming; when combined, the music take the shape of a reunion-like jam session. 

‘Beyond the Eyes of the Universe’, ‘Forgotten Days’, ‘Passing Suns’ and ‘Ceaseless Sorrow’ claw furiously to claim the top spot; edifying some of the best instrumental symmetry heard on Seas of Eternal Silence. It is here Exhumation excels, the vibrancy of their compositions come to front in effectively broadcasting a range of emotions to the listener/s. This contrast in musicianship gives each track a unique identity whilst applying a cohesive overall image and sound to the album. Part of me wishes Exhumation were still together, but in opposition, I am content with what little (quantity-wise), though remarkably exceptional content was delivered. I’d much prefer a unit put out few quality releases and disband than stick around for 20 + years with each new addition being significantly worse than its predecessor. 

The remastered demo tracks are not the best but offer a glimpse as to what Exhumation had been aiming for prior to achieving it on Seas of Eternal Silence. Though roughly recorded and raw in production, the improvement can be heard on the updated version of the instrumental ‘Monuments’, hence, it’s blueprint is traced and invigorated throughout the original music featured on Seas of Eternal Silence. This is essential listening and owning for anyone who has had the displeasure of hearing any of Arch Enemy and cohort’s music. Spending time with Seas of Eternal Silence makes me want to own all of Exhumation’s albums physically, leaving me to wonder if a reissue of Dance Across the Past and Traumaticon will ever materialize. The CD version can be purchased through Vic Records, get it if you can, Seas of Eternal Silence is a piece of irreplaceable metal history. 

Rating: 9 out of 10    

Review by Chris Pratl on June 22, 2017.

Say it ain’t so, Joe.

Decapitated has had more than a human share of misfortune hit the band in recent years with the death of founding drummer Vitek and the horrible incapacitating of vocalist Covan after a bus accident in Belarus in ’07. At that point the band was riding high, making a name for itself all over the underground at a blinding speed. In one fell swoop it all changed with Carnival is Forever…and not for the better.

This album is straight ahead nu-metal, nothing more, nothing less, and even when certain morons try and explain away this tag and call me out for improper usage of it I staunchly stand by it; the careful dancing around the trite, predictable vocals and blast-beat drumming on a seemingly endless program spill mallcore secrets in copious amounts and it seems that the band has hit the proverbial brick wall. From the very first chords of “The Knife” I immediately shake my head with wonder as to how the band went from Organic Hallucinosis to this unmitigated and trite mess. While there are still some death metal devices in place throughout the album, the basic concept is raped and left bleeding on a cold, soulless floor. I understand now just how much Vitek, Sauron and Covan gave to Decapitated over its career, and I have to cringe at the thought of what the young drummer would think of this pedestrian direction had he not been so violently taken from this life.

What you might have gotten out of The Negation or Nihility is long gone and in its place is this lethargic and diluted spectacle set to music. I’m not even sure how I managed to get through this album without taking short breaks to slam my head off the bathroom sink as I surely wanted to; I consider it a wasted opportunity. The best comparison I can offer is to Meshuggah, which in my opinion is one of the better insults I must attach to this album. The vocals are silly, processed yelling that might serve some 15-year-old who’s never actually heard the band before, but for season pros like myself and a few thousand other fans this is just flat out lazy! The best track on here is the instrumental “Silence”, which at least has the decency to rip off Opeth rather than Trivium. 

Metal history is littered like a Kansas highway with the good and bad when a band implements a major lineup change. Some decisions have been positive for the band (Black Sabbath and Accept immediately come to mind), and then some have been dead air being forced down your throat ala Venom or anything by Mayhem post De Mysteriiis dom Sathanas. Sometimes the original fire is just doused, and such is the case here. Everything that made Decapitated a powerful, destructive band has been circumcised beyond legitimate gender identification. What once packed a volatile punch to the face in tracks like “The First Damned” or “Visual Delusion” has now given way to the lame attempt at some Nevermore-like progressive riffs that fall well short and only survive in the mall-fan’s miniscule psyche. This is not how the band should go out, and at this point anything else would be an affront to the band’s legacy. Enough damage has been done. 

I’m sure some fans might find some value in these tracks, but all I keep hearing is the typicality of Nu-metal garbage running over the music with reckless abandon without any regard for true technical death metal lineage, never mind staying true to the band’s original ideas. These silly chugging guitars are more Hatebreed than anything else, and while I do enjoy the occasional Hatebreed album I certainly do not want to hear it under the Decapitated moniker - it’s just bad taste, not to mention a slap in the face to the fans that stuck out both the good days coming up and the dark hours soon to follow. If this is the best that the band can offer I say the band died on that lonely road with Vitek much the same way Metallica did on the icy road in Sweden in 1986. Some machines just can’t work on a different fuel and shouldn’t be forced to grind gears on a bone-dry ideal that is lost to an unimaginative and complacent effort. 

If a carnival is forever, then a sellout is infinite.

Rating: 4 out of 10 

(Originally written for MetalPsalter.com)

Review by Adam M on July 24, 2011.

The new Decapitated shows some slight changes and tweaks to the sound the band has been developing, but still retains the passionate aggression that they’ve always been known for. This is a collection of songs that contains jagged rhythms, numerous changes of pace and a great deal of groove. I’ve seen many mentions that this album has noticeable similarities to Meshuggah and though there are definitely traces of influence, this is still a decidedly Decapitated album throughout and continues upon the ideas of the previous album “Organic Hallucinosis”.

The band is still able to pull the listener into their eerie Death Metal groove and never release and this is seen on many of the tracks on "Carnival Is Forever". The first three tracks on the disc make a huge impact and three of the best to be found here. Notably, the opener 'Knife' gets the proceedings off to a furious start and the title track offers a demented changeable mood that gives the release some much need variety. Otherwise,'View In A Hole' had memorable rhythms and moments that made it another standout. The worst song on the album is by far '404' which ventures too far into the Meshuggah style instead of retaining the typical Decapitated sound, which is usually superior in the first place.

Regardless, the material here is stellar and backed up by some strong instrumental performances. The guitar licks are punishing and versatile, as expected, and the drumming is solid. The vocals aren’t nearly as Hardcore influenced as some are making them out to be, but sound slightly too similar to those of Meshuggah again. Guitar solos are also not quite exciting as they have been in the past. The amount of atmosphere and variation on the album makes up for any small flaws, however.

"Carnival Is Forever" is just another solid Decapitated release and as good as anything they’ve done outside of "Winds Of Creation".

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 8.5
Atmosphere: 9
Production: 9
Originality: 7.5
Overall: 8.5

Rating: 8.5 out of 10