Something evil this way comes..... Something that at least sounds very evil. Hailing from the land of the rising sun, COFFINS has become a rather prolific band, formed in 1996 and releasing their first demo in 2000. And since 2000 the Japanese quarter have released over 25 different albums, EP's and splits, a very impressive achievement in 13 years. But here at Metal Temple we're not interested in quantity, we're here for quality, so without further ado, let's get to COFFINS 6^th full length offering "The Fleshland".

And so we open with "Here Comes Perdition", like I said, it's evil, the old school intro welcomes you to what you'll find to be a very old school, evil sounding album and the first track is the initial example of that, a slow starter the song builds into a well-defined Death Metal hymn. "Hellbringer" continues the faster assault with a pounding riff that at times threatens to knock your head off. "The Colossal Hole" is a Doom Metal affair deeply reminiscent of classic PARADISE LOST's debut "Lost Paradise" the song being extremely slow and methodical. "No Savior" really continues the last songs Doom / Death feel, this one is fast but not overly so, making with even slower bits during the guitar solo. "Rotten Disciples" changes the pace with an almost thrash metal riff with an unapologetic Death Metal feel. The record closes with the mid paced but none the less brutal "Tormentopia".

I grew up on the old school Death / Doom bands that came out in the late 80s, and that's what makes this album a bit of a tough one for me to judge, the songwriting is certainly there, so is the heart, this band has plenty of heart, and skill, this album is certainly well paced starting fast, slowing down and building up speed for the finale. Having said that, the album also has a major issue I can't ignore.

Whether it was done purposely or not, just like those bands from the late 80s, the production on this album is very amateurish at best and outright terrible at worst. This is not something I expect from a band on its 6^th full length album. Bands like AT THE GATES and PARADISE LOST improved their sound from album to album, Coffins however kept it simple, and that sadly ruined what could have been a great album. The guitars are under produced and the drum sound is absolutely horrendous, great songwriting will not save you from bad production, and as good as this album is, the production makes it a bit hard to listen to, especially considering that this album was recorded in 2013, and not 1988.