Track Premiere: Coffin Lurker – “Of Suffering”

At the dawn of the millennium, there was a trend within the resurgence in the popularity of the zombie film. The “fast zombies” resembled more of a mob of crazed and rabid animals than the rigor-mortis ridden crawl of a mass of living corpses. While not a new addition to the horror film sub-genre, fast zombie films just seemed to catch on for over a decade, making a significant portion of the re-discovered public fascinations with a zombie apocalypse. 28 Days Later (2002), Dawn Of The Dead (2004), Zombieland (2009), and World War Z (2013) all made particularly effective use of hyper-powered undead (or, in the case of 28 Days Later, infected). While the fresh perspective was an interesting exploration into a mostly untapped side of the zombie hypothetical, they seemed like they were missing a core component that made classics like Night Of The Living Dead and Zombi 2 so chilling, breeding this slow, creeping, inescapable sense of doom. Putting oneself in the position of the characters evokes a burning dread: This is just about surviving for as long as you can. While you may be able to outmaneuver or outrun the coming hordes, eventually you will wear down and become devoured, succumbing painfully to the never-tiring crawl of inevitability.

Coffin Lurker certainly understand the power of slow, creeping, gradual, and, ultimately, suffocating doom. The Dutch duo consists of the ever-prolific Maurice De Jong (Gnaw Their Tongues, Cloak Of Altering, Dodenbezweerder) and Rene Aquarius (Dead Neanderthals, Cryptae, Plague Organ). Both artists boast portfolios that give considerable attention to creating expansive, convincing atmospheres – the Coffin Lurker project should seem like a logical collaboration to anyone familiar with the works of the two musicians. Foul And Defiled stylistically nests itself snugly between the juggernaut crawl of death/doom, the ritualistic atmosphere of primitive black metal, and the dirging, somber tones of funeral doom. This skeleton is fully cloaked in static nightmares, lacing the claustrophobic soundscape with subtle pops and etchings that will have the listener jumping at shadows for its full duration.

It is our extreme pleasure to present the first glimpse into the undying procession of doom that is Coffin Lurker in the form of Fouled And Defiled‘s second track, “Of Suffering.” Starting with a wash of down-tuned tremolo murk, the song locks into a groove. Rene’s drumming is immediately recognizable, The primitive, ritualistic tattoos that just drag ever so slightly behind the beat reveal the percussionist’s strength as a feel drummer. So much of the vibe of the song is crucial to how he manipulates the tempo into a burdened swing. Every stroke of the stick is deliberately accentuated down to the steady sizzle of the hi-hats, as though some otherworldly entity was using every bit of its strength to channel its will into our realm. When the snare picks up to a steady eighth pattern, it slams like a loose shutter in a haunted house, battering away at the whims of the spirit that possess it – or was that just the wind?

The guitar smolders over the pulse of the drums. “Of Suffering,” in particular, reflects a doom, primitive black metal style reminiscent of the crudeness of Profanatica, the stream-of-conscioussness of Ride For Revenge, and especially the hazy, fuzz-drenched atmosphere of Void Meditation Cult. Coffin Lurker shove all three into a blender and throw a heaping helping of molasses on top to really slow down the works. The repetitive dirge of the riffs fill the space like a hypnotic River Styx, somberly flooding its way over anything in its path. While there are moments of subtle, implied violence – the bits of dissonance certainly splash up from time to time – the river remains calm. The spirit of fear that stems from the inevitable creeping doom captured so well on those classic zombie films is found in equal measure on Fouled And Defiled. There’s a feeling of suspense that is eloquently captured across the record: “Of Suffering” serves as but a taste of the overwhelming darkness to be found within the hearts of Coffin Lurker.

Foul And Defiled is now available for pre-order on LP and cassette via the Sentient Ruin Laboratories Bandcamp page.