EP: Coscradh, 'Of Death and Delirium'


Last July, Dublin’s Coscradh descended on the Kasbah in Limerick with Vircolac, Apostate Viactum and Trenchknife for a pleasant night of apocalyptic death metal. As it turned out, their performance turned out to be one of the most impressive sets I saw in 2017. With no talking, wreathed in a haze of incense smoke and red lights, they delivered a blackened death sound that was equal parts atmospheric, fluid and chaotic. The theatrics complimented it perfectly, and you can see the commitment and consistency in everything down to their album artwork. Naturally, I got my hands on their EP, simply titled ‘Demo XVII’ immediately, and was pleased to find that plenty of the effect survived on recording. November’s ‘Of Death and Delirium’ is a solid follow-up that keeps the outfit firmly on my radar of bands to watch, a short, intense, unwavering effort.

There are only three tracks here, but it’s a healthy 20-minute runtime with decent variety. ‘Disappeared’, the opener is the most accessible track (by Coscradh standards), with a runtime under four minutes, fairly stable drumming, and vocals that could almost be words. It’s followed by ‘Hangwoman’, which starts off as a death metal track with black metal mixing, but quickly shifts towards the latter as the riffs change at will and the drums are lost in the mire. That may sound like a criticism; trust me, it’s exactly what’s needed. It’s jarring enough to maintain non-stop interest. The same philosophy is carried on into ‘Saor sa hAnbháis’, which starts off heavy and goes for eleven minutes, with a slowing-down around the middle not compromising the grim atmosphere at play. It gets slightly doomier and less chaotic, but again, this is welcome, and the sound loses none of its wicked bite.

It all sounds evil, plain and simple. It will transport you to a terrible place, and you won’t want to leave. The vocals are smack-bang in between death metal grunting and black metal shrieking, which is very appealing to someone who’s not an especially dogmatic follower of either (myself). Musically, it keeps you on your toes, with the settled moments becoming just as disconcerting as the wild ones. And yet, once you surrender to it, the final product washes over the listener in an ambient manner; which I may blame upon positive bias from the band’s ritualistic live shows. That’s the thing about Coscradh. They sound great on record, but personally, I ascribe them to a list of Irish bands that need to be caught live to be experienced authentically. If you see their name on a poster anywhere near you, cancel any other plans for that evening right away.

Favourite track: ‘Disappeared’
Polite Recommendation: An unhealthy quantity of live shows
For fans of: Zarathustra, Thulcandra, Naddred, Overoth, Apostate Viatictum, Mourning Beloveth
Get it here: CD/Download

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