'Coffin Liquor' EP is Napalm Ted's third release this year, and fifth in all. They don't build sonic cathedrals, but about a minute or two long grindcore/death metal pieces. Yeah, they can get very intense... So get ready for their newest squirt of fermented load, because they are coming fast!

Well, mostly. There is quite a bit of tempo changes happening. From fast blasts to mid-paced/slower beats. The songs, albeit short, are about changes. The songs tend to move into a new part almost every time they change (sometimes the band return back for chorus or something at ending of songs). Is this a fucking mess? Not composition-wise, even though that that could have been very easy to "achieve". A song keeps changing but this variety is sticky and able. Progressive grindcore/death metal; this is it!

All in all, this has a burn time of almost 12 minutes. During this snippet of time the band are able to give us death metal (bands such as Carcass and Vomitory can be smelled), grindcore (Nasum... Repulsion... Terrorizer) and punk (Discharge). Atmospheres go from insane (on 'Baker' there's a jolly nursery rhyme going on... and Macabre comes to mind) to oppressive and brutal. The band cannot be accused for stagnation or running out of ideas.

The vocals, performed by two guys, vary a lot, too. Guttural, throaty or snarly in Jeff Walker way growling is accompanied by throat-ripping, insane shouting. The lyrics partly include black humour, but on the other hand, can be a look at modern society. Instrumental-wise, this is very good. The guitars offer riffing that can be heavy-handed or fast shredding, and open-string stuff. The drums go from blast beats to d-beats and are generally all over the place. In a great way. The bass mauls and brings in... well, bass!

Any way you ingest it, 'Coffin Liquor' isn't a humorous release, except in a twisted way. It is very able in its trade and one of the best ones the band have ejected to date. Viva progression! Viva the old school!

Rating: 7½ (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
11/24/2017 17:37