September 18, 2008 | | 4

XXX Maniak / Coffins, The Chains of Doom

The juxtaposition of two entirely different bands in the form of techno-death-grinders XXX Maniak and sludge-doom monsters Coffins is pure, unadulterated genius. On one hand you have the aural skull fucking of programmed drums, caustic guitars/noise and disturbing vocals. On the other, two tracks built on some of the heaviest doom from one of the hardest working bands on the planet.

XXX Maniak continue their legacy of controversial lyrics and pummeling rhythms in 20 tracks. Programmed blasts explode behind guttural and screamed vocals while driving riffs pound the band’s brand of grinding death metal into every orifice they can. Coffins do what they do best with their contribution to the split — two tracks of bone crushing, sludge tinged death doom at a monolithic 16 plus minutes. The presence of both of these bands on this split make it an instant classic.

Raping A Minor Of The White Race
A 20 second clip starts off this thick and bruising track. The pace starts off at a chugging cadence, but quickly explodes into hyper speeds as the filtered vocals combine a shouted delivery with a few growls.

Sweet Relief In The Mausoleum
XXX Maniak waste no time with this next one. Surely a classic song title if ever there was one, “Sweet Relief In The Mausoleum” erupts out of the gate with spastically paced programming, porn sound clips and vocals that remind me a lot of the defunct GWAR side project X-cops. 45 seconds later the track is done.

Raped By A Retard
A catchy rhythm gets this one going with screamed vocals and layered sound clips and more screaming. This one is all over the place and quite memorable

Picking Up A Random Goregrind CD And Acting Out The Cover With The Girl Next Door
Another catchy beat starts off this one before devolving into a churning mass of drum blasts and screams before ending after just 30 seconds. Not only is it the longest titled song, but also the best titled.

Worthless Hole
This one has a crazy 70’s rock vibe to it as the caustic vocals are half sung, half screamed through rapid fire drums blasts. An extended scream carries us into the next track.

Skeleton Inside Her
A nice head banging inducing rhythm gets this one going as crushing mosh comes in before the track ends just after 30 seconds. Man, XXX Maniak’s half of the split is moving by quickly.

Sandbox Sniffer
A brief sound clip gets this extremely short track going. The vocals are altered into a higher pitch similar to that found on the recent Copremesis album we reviewed last month. It’s over in just 17 seconds.

Aroused By The Rape Trial
Light bass and a sound clip fill the first 15 seconds before thick riffs and shouted vocals come in. Deep guttural growls take over before the band shift into hyper blasts just before the 40 second mark. This one is pretty damned catchy.

Stabilize Her
I love the rock fueled opening to this one. It’s got a nice punk feel to the vocals, as well.

Sludge Taster (Piercing the Pipes)
After another brief sound clip expires, the band blasts through a few seconds of churning riffs and guttural screams.

Smoking Sumerian Debris
A nice series of drum and riff hits gets this next one going. It’s got a definite stoner feel to it, but that’s shifted a bit with the deep, guttural vocals. The drums after the 40 second mark are impressive as they shift from a staggered cadence to full on face peeling blasts.

Magician In The Bathrobe
I love the title to this one. A brief sound clip leads us into blasting programming and thick riffs. The 24 second mark sees the band using some of the most insanely quick programmed drums I’ve heard to date.

Hot Nazi Sluts Have Hot Steaming Guts
This is one of my favorite tracks on the album. It’s beefy riffs and drum programming work tremendously well with the layred duel vocals.

Bludgeoned By A Human Body
I’ve heard of beating someone with their own limb, but bludgeoning another person with an entire body is unheard of. This is one hell of an aggressive track with hypersonic drum blasts and deep, guttural vocals.

Perpetually Exploding Uterus
Catchy, stoner riffs match with deep vocals in combination with the drum programming for a pretty sweet track.

Born Again Slut
This is a fun track as it combines some of the more guttural gurgles heard on the XXX Maniak side of things with some filtered shouts. The beat is pretty steady with thick riffing.

Snorting Her Fumes
“Snorting Her Fumes” has some nice guitar work and a slower pace. It’s got a dark edge to it before descending into madness just before the 30 second mark. It’s probably one of the more “structured” songs on the disc.

Grinded To Nothing
The title says it all on this one. It’s a rapid fire bludgeoning affair that lasts about 25 seconds.

Balls vs. Hatchet
A slower pace and hardcore styled vocal delivery gets this one going with chugging rhythms. The vocals get much deeper as the pace quickens before ending in a series of screams and super sonic blasts.

Mouth You Don’t Have To Feed
The last XXX Maniak track starts off with a quick paced drum program and distant sound clips. The vocals are deep, disturbing and have an evil edge to them as the band shifts tempos several times in a short span.

The Cracks of Doom
Coffins get things going on their side of the split with “The Cracks of Doom.” After a few sound clips of a thunderstorm, this Japanese band hit with sludgy riffs that have a static texture within it. The drums come in slowly and heavily along with pummeling bass. The vocals come in as a series of brief grunts at the two minute mark and are then swallowed by the chugging riffs. The come back in full force 30 seconds later — deep, guttural and raw. This one is a bone crushing behemoth of sludgy doom metal if ever there was one. There are some real catchy riffs buried in the sludge throughout this one so pay attention to the details. More storm sound clips end the track after 7 and a half minutes.

Ebony Tears
The final track is a cover of Cathedral’s “Ebony Tears” from 1991’s Forest of Equilibrium. It starts off with memorable riffs and a big scream before the band settles into a crawling rhythm. Coffins have certainly added their own flavor to this song, making it darker, sludgier and that much more evil. The lead at the 5:40 mark is bleak and fits the band’s sound wonderfully. Quite simply, this is an amazing cover.

~ ~ ~

This split is freakin’ solid. Sheer societal destruction from XXX Maniak on one side and sludge veterans Coffins on the other can only mean one thing. The end of all things decent is upon us. Definitely check this disc out.

Favorite Tracks:
All of them

Additional Notes:
N/A