Chile's Extreme Metal scene continued to impress with COFFIN CURSE's debut, "Ceased to Be," an old school Death Metal record with riffs of maximum caliber. The album was eight tracks of fresh ideas mixed with old school stylings.

"Gathered unto Death" introduced the album with steady riffing and nice structure but nothing beyond what was expected of the release. The track jumped around with different riffs, progressing through them with ease before reaching a sort of grand finale. As a whole, the song was a strong start to the record.

Within the first half of the record, the scene was set for brutality. "Where Sickness Thrives" and "Chopped Clean Off" provided a look into the fierce riffing of the band. With very good transitioning and songwriting technique, the songs were effectively two of the strongest on the record.

Coffin Curse presented themselves as one of the modern OSDM acts, like SKULLCRUSHER, which combined both modern and old school stylings. This is especially seen on "Deep in Streams of Putrefying Dirt" and "Chopped Clean Off." Both tracks had riffs that made use of harmonics, and they also maintained a natural flow and fortified composition.

Multiple influences were heard on this release. The majority of the tracks, like "Descend into Abhorrence" and "Gathered unto Death," had a Thrash Metal style in the riffs. Other songs, like "Extinct," took a Doom Metal route in execution. While "Extinct" was a fairly dull track, the various sounds on the release built the band's resume up high.

"Deep in Streams of Putrefying Dirt" was a testament to the album's advantage in structure. Maintaining strong riffing throughout the record, especially near the beginning, the final, nine-minute track was a joining of the band's many styles and themes. Whether it was the Doom-flavored tracks or the Thrash-heavy riffing, the final song had it all. The result was an effective way of taking the release full circle, incorporating the finest moments of the album into one song.

Overall, Coffin Curse created a decent record. Its structure was strong, and its only real flaw was in its muffled production. With great riffs and songwriting, the album was worthy of praise, and it was a great start for the underground Chilean scene.