Coma Cluster Void – Mind Cemeteries
Label – Independent
Release Date – Out Now
Reviewed by Jeremy Vane-Tempest
This album is heavy. I could pretty much just end this review here because that’s the best way to describe Coma Cluster Void’s new record, Mind Cemeteries. It’s tech death metal. It’s good tech death metal, and it’s not your garden variety smash and thrash death metal a lá Cannibal Corpse. It’s like a poor man’s Fallujah, with staccato, idiosyncratic time signatures and melodies that venture beyond little rapid-fire double kick and guitar noodling. It’s nothing outside the box, but it’s not quite inside the box, either. It’s stuck on the side of the box with delicious, delicious clag glue.
As an aside, this album scared the hell out of me because opening track Prologue: I Am is practically silent, and then second track Iron Empress just exploded into life and made me shit a brick. The mix is a little rough and while that can add texture and depth, it’s a little distracting here because this is a style of music that really wants a crystal-clear master. The musicianship is top-shelf, though, and the best example of this is the awesomely titled six-minute slow burner Petrified Tears. It builds slowly and never quite produces the pay-off you want, but that’s because the pay off comes in the very next track, All Bitter Endings.
Ultimately, this album is a great example of how tech metal albums need to be perfect in every way for them to work. Think about the aforementioned Fallujah. Dreamless is perfectly executed and mixed and it sounds great. Mind Cemeteries, conversely, has a couple of hiccups and, unfortunately, they detract from the listening experience. It’s a fun album, though, and if you dig tech metal then you’ll probably find something to enjoy here. Jam it if it appeals to you.
