Much like someone coming off a vacation or long flight home, Coffin Rot take a while to find their footing.

The new Death Metal album Dreams Of The Disturbed (Maggot Stomp) needs three or four songs before it seems to get settled in and ready to go, and by that time, it’s already too late.

After a bit of a flat first impression, further listens do in fact reveal beefy goodness later on, but it requires an uphill battle and disciplined patience.

There are also curious decisions made regarding vocals and the rhythm section as a whole. “Lurking In The Cemetery” at times has vocals at different volumes and they clash on “Perverted Exhumation.” There’s even unharmonized screaming (“Unmarked, Shallow Grave”) where the two vocalists start at different times.

Coupled with excessive empty space and disjointed music sections, Dreams is a hard sell.

Towards the end, however, there are moments of sturdy riffing and alluring finger-tapped soloing.

Frenetic energy and punchy drums shape “Predator Becomes Prey” and Coffin Rot as a whole effectively orchestrate energy which ebbs before building up again.

But the overall body of work is lacking more often than not. With eight songs in total, nearly half feel either incomplete or half-assed for the sake of getting it done.

It’s disappointing, especially coming from Maggot Stomp, a label known for devastating extreme music and crushing demeanor. 

Though life is about hits and misses, and there’s no reason to believe Coffin Rot won’t return in the near future with a bruising effort that cancels out any sour taste left in our ears. 

Buy the album here:
https://coffinrot-maggotstomp.bandcamp.com/album/dreams-of-the-disturbed

6 / 10
MATT COOK