Coscradh is old Irish for ‘massacre’, ‘triumph in slaughter’. How is that for an opening?! The band hails from Ireland, and Carving the Causeway to the Otherworld is their brand new slab of dark, vicious death metal. Their 2022 debut album, Nahanagan Stadial, was quite a scorcher; the band has bested it with this terrific album. With eight songs in 44 minutes, the band writes rather long songs. Outside of a brief intro and short opening song, all the songs range from 5 ½ minutes to over 9 minutes.
“Five Fifths Awaken” opens the album, and at under three minutes, starts with an atmospheric intro of sorts. The bludgeoning music, mostly a doomy mid-paced crawl, showcases how heavy this band is. There are some pained and anguished types of vocals erupting, and by and large, this is an interesting way to open an album. It does not feel like a real first song to open an album with.
Lots of instrumentation with drum rolls galore. But it works in conjunction with the title track, which is next. Honestly, since it goes right into the title track, the opener should have just been merged with the title track. The same mid-paced heaviness is there, then right into a fast part with vocalist/guitarist Ciarán Ó Críodáin having more of a blackened death metal rasp, then straight gutturals. For the material and the band’s sound, I do feel his vocal tones are effective. He does come across as having a similar style to the late great Quorthon (RIP) of Bathory fame. Think Under the Sign of the Black Mark, for that type of vocal vibe. Boban Bubnjar entered the band in 2022 on drums, and he pounds the hell outta the drums, like I pound the hell outta pints of Guinness. The rest of the band, bassist Hick O Aodha and guitarist Jason Keane, also lend vocals to this brutal affair. The band’s sound has similarities to Incantation, Portal, and Dead Congregation. I find the band having quite a menacing and evil sound. Like they mean business. So far so good and things only get better…
“Scythe of Saturn” opens with an excellent blackened death metal riff that goes right for the jugular with the blast. There is a bit of noisiness to their sound. It can be a lot to listen to, but I like the ferociousness the band displays. The monster blasting then gets into a galloping mid-paced moment, and that bass guitar is prominent, sounding like early Bathory, in some parts. Squealing guitar solos ignite as the song slows down, and these slower moments are where Coscradh shine best. Excellent Bathory-inspired vocals are all over this sucker as this pounding, mid-paced heaviness steamrolls right through your neighborhood. More squealing guitar moments, over the blast, with a variety of vocal tones. This song is evil, albeit chaotic at times.
“Opening the Gates to Styx, Nix, Kerberos, and Hydra” ends the album at over 9 minutes, the longest song on here. There are a lot of lyrics on this song, a lot!! Demonic, devilish, and creative. The variety of vocal tones, pain, and anguished screams makes you feel as if the vocalist is experiencing hell himself. Fast, noisy blasting, then the mid-paced moment takes over, and the heaviness is apparent, then off to the races. About halfway through, the slow doomy moments come in with berating vocals and cool phase shifter guitar effects. As the song trails off in atmospherics, it ties in to how the album starts. I like when bands do this.
Carving the Causeway to the Otherworld is forged with hate, violence, darkness, blasphemy, and evil. Coscradh knows how to conjure up emotions within the listener with their style of extreme music. At times, the noisiness gets a bit much. When they blast – it is on full display, and it’s a cacophony of chaos. I do like the more brutal elements, but sometimes less is more. The power the band exudes on the slower/mid-paced and doomier moments is far more impactful, heavier, and the production and mix are much stronger during those parts.
Regardless of that, one of the things I really appreciate about this band is that they create pure dark death metal. It’s refreshing to hear this. Yes, there are nods to the band of yore, who used to do this/still do this style, yet the band injects their own flair, and that is in the evilness department. Damn good!
