I've never really taken a firm position on music downloading until tonight. I was searching for some background info on Coffins to add to this review and a good number of torrent sites came up in the top slots on Google. C'mon kids...the CD isn't officially released for another month and it is already all over the internet???? It is highly unlikely that Coffins makes much money and this sort of bulls*t will limit both the band's releases and their ability to tour in the future.

Anyway...on with the review. Coffins sound has devolved and slowed waaaay down over the years. On the band's third release, Buried Death, the music is akin to a death metal version of The Melvins crossed with Kyuss. There are low-end bass and drums throughout the disc over which guitarist/vocalist Uchino growls in a cookie monster voice and locks in some stoner guitar riffs and psychedelic leads. While the band's style remains consistent across the disc, there is enough musical diversity between the tracks that the band doesn't wear out their welcome.

In addition to the music, the packaging is pretty cool on this release as Coffins appears to be one of the few bands that remembers the thrill of buying a gatefold LP for the cover art, inserts, etc. Buried Dead has some pretty killer cover art by Chris Moyen depicting zombies in the graveyard and the CD comes in an LP-like inner-sleeve. The band obviously took a lot of care in putting this release together.

Buried Death will be released on June 24th on 20 Buck Spin which is distributed through Southern Lord. Decibel magazine cited Buried Dead as one of the 25 most anticipated LPs of 2008. The title track, "Buried Death", is included on Southern Lord sampler that will given out free on Boris' North American tour.

Coffins is playing the Maryland Death Fest this weekend and made their US debut last week, which included shows at ABC No Rio and Rockstar Bar. There are some pictures of Coffin's show at ABC No Rio posted to Flickr.

Links:
Coffins' MySpace Profile
Coffins' Website