Encoffination – O' Hell, Shine In Thy Whited Sepulchres (Selfmadegod Records)
Anyone versed in the language of metal's heavier fringes probably won't have too hard a time figuring this one out. I would hate to encourage the judgment of a book by its cover, but when a metal band's font is strikingly similar to Incantation's and their name itself isn't too far removed from Coffins, one has a fairly clear direction in which to look. And a comparison to either band isn't unjustified – Encoffination straddles the same divide between pummeling, primitive death metal and churning funeral doom that both bands have dealt with for some time (though O' Hell... tends to invert the other bands' formulas, with probably seventy-five percent of the material comprised of slow dirge punctuated by occasional faster moments). But I would hate to suggest that the band doesn't offer some striking sonic conceptual takes on the style that afford their work closer consideration.
The whole thing is apparently based on guitarist/vocalist Ghoat's experience in the funerary industry, something of a different take on mortality in a style that seems to have exhausted every other way of looking at corpses. I definitely appreciate the professional's eye. It lends a credibility to the lyrical proceedings that most bands lack, and gives the project a direction that sets it apart. I can definitely see this influence working its way into songs like “Rites Of Ceremonial Embalm'ment [sic],” “Washed and Buried,” or “Annunciation of the Viscera” but it's a little harder to tell how literally to take a song like “Crypt Of His Communal Devourment” - maybe there's more devouring going on in the funeral business than I had expected, maybe the band is side-stepping into some more traditional metal lyrical territory, it's hard to tell.
Musically, the band applied the idea of death as the ultimate alienation to numerous facets of the album. Each of the two members recorded their respective parts independently, in studios located in different time zones, though one would be hard-pressed to tell. The songs flow fairly cohesively, alternating between slow death metal and fast doom with enough flourishes to keep the songs from turning into overly-simplistic bludgeoning. Tolling bells and funereal organs make their way to the music's forefront, occasional eerie sung vocals claw out from under the guttural growling and, perhaps most indicative of the band's approach, several songs feature a veneer of snaps and crackles bearing resemblance to the imperfections of an old record. It's an aesthetic touch that really hammers home the idea of decay, with the suggestion that even the sounds themselves are being obscured by the passage of time.
While Encoffination isn't the first band to tackle the sub-genres that they've brought into play on O'Hell..., there is enough deviation from the norm, both aesthetic and conceptual, to render the album worth a listen. Theirs is an understanding of death and decay that's surprisingly nuanced for a band playing this style of music. I can imagine that their singer's frequent exposure to death helps to demystify it in some ways, allowing for a reverent meditation on the concept that doesn't undermine the idea's gravity, but the application of these ideas in so thorough a manner sets Encoffination apart from the morbid-minded masses.