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The Grotesquery: Tales of the coffin born
02/03/10 || cadenz
Once upon a time, a horrid story begged to be told. A hand-picked squadron of reputable death metallers obliged, and sacrificed their minds and bodies to become the instruments through which the saga would spread across the Earth, blighting the very soil. The visionary prophet, growler and lyricist Kam Lee (Bone Gnawer, ex-Mantas/Death, ex-Massacre) steers this malignant ship into bleak horizons alongside guitarist and composer Rogga Johansson (Bone Gnawer, Ribspreader, Paganizer, ex-Edge of Sanity), conjuring necromantic atmospheres and ghoulish apparitions with their forces joined.
“Tales of the Coffin Born” is a concept album, telling the gory tale of a father trying to save his sick and twisted son from demise by pleasing the dark gods of death with sacrificial murders. The child feeds on the blood of the dead and becomes a macabre abomination of a human down in his father’s cellar along with the mummified corpses, held prisoner by evil spells cast by his ever-loving and devoted Dad who wants to protect him from the world. A gothic horror story, carried forth through the album by nefarious spoken intros to every track – and of course the songs themselves.
What kind of music do The Grotesquery bring to the (turn-)table, then? Well, the tunes need to fit the wicked lyrical content and Rogga Johansson has written the riffs. Wanna guess? Yep, that’s right – britpop with lots of synths. Except the britpop. And the synths. And the non-mention of gloomy death metal to which we’re (obviously) treated. Rogga and Kam’s other project Bone Gnawer isn’t that far off from this, and one usually knows what to expect from Rogga. With The Grotesquery, though, he’s managed to create a darker atmosphere surrounding the tracks, and the music matches the lyrics’ vibe quite nicely.
So no-nonsense, slow-to-mid-tempo death metal is the name of the game here. The pace is never quick, and is sometimes dropped to a doomy slither where things open up and sombre lead melodies bring more depth and a cold feel to the songs (see the ending of “Necromantic Ways”). The riffing reminds me quite a lot of Six Feet Under at times, though better. All tracks on “Tales from the Coffin Born” are good, though some parts definitely sound filler to me – which isn’t all that surprising, considering the amount of bands the stringbender participates in. Still, quality control is present, and though some riffs are a bit stale and forced the majority of ‘em kicks ass.
The production is very clear yet still has a somewhat nasty evil edge to it. A modern kind of raw – HiFi raw? I’ll have to remember to trademark that. All instrumental/vocal performances are top notch. The riffing is precise from both Rogga and bassist Johan Berglund (This Haven), who throws in some interesting fills in the right spots. Lee’s vocals are suitably sick and unclean as always, and Brynjar Helgetun’s (Liklukt) drumming is immaculate. No one of the fabulous four does anything ground-breaking or mind-blowing, but that is mainly a good thing here. By keeping it to the basics they maintain the focus on the songs and story, while keeping the listener’s interest and driving the music forward by spicing it up with small, tiny twists a little here and there.
While not inventing anything particularly new, The Grotesquery have done a baleful and dreary record with a unique story and a dark atmosphere; and despite the re-cycling quality of some riffs and the slight repetitiveness of the material, I can see myself still enjoying “Tales of the Coffin Born” many years from now. Whether my Prophetic Sensors™ are as finely tuned as all my other limbs, only time will tell.
- Information
- Released: 2010
- Label: Cyclone Empire
- Website: The Grotesquery MySpace
- Band
- Master Kam Lee: vocals
- Herr Rogga Johansson: guitars
- Grand Master Johan Berglund: bass
- Notorious Brynjar Helgetun: drums
- Tracklist
- 01. Coffin Birth
- 02. This Morbid Child
- 03. That Thing Which Lurks in Shadows
- 04. Necromantic Ways
- 05. The Terrible Old Man
- 06. Sins of His Father
- 07. Spirits of the Dead
- 08. Nightmares Made Flesh
- 09. Sepulcher Macabre
- 10. Fall of the House of Grotesque
