Coffinshade / Optophobic - Hymns of Sorrow and Fear

COFFINSHADE / OPTOPHOBIC - Hymns of Sorrow and Fear (PUTRID CULT - Split CD 2016)

Sorry, but I just didn’t manage to spend much time with this split CD. I’ve tried to do my best. I’ve tried few times to give it a good listen, but the dullness and shit quality of the music beat me completely. So, sorry, but this will be short and rather negative review, that will surely not encourage you to buy this CD. So, we have here two bands: Coffinshade (which is sort of US / Polish project) and Optophobic (Sweden). I didn’t know any of them and well, I doubt if I will want to be back to check their other recordings. Not in this life.

Coffinshade is definitely the worse band of the two. I am not big fan of depressive black metal, but if I play anything from this style then it has to be something truly interesting and capturing, with great atmosphere, etc. Coffinshade is just… bad, really. What a boring music, with complete lack of anything enjoyable and solid… Shitty riffs, complete inability to create proper atmosphere and more so, there are totally irritating and badly performed vocals – which surely are the worst part of music of this project. The cover of Nocturnal Depression is one of the worse songs I’ve ever heard, I wonder if original is also so fuckin shit. Sorry, but Coffinshade has just nothing to offer me, their music is forgettable, it’s annoying and did I already use the word “boring”? Yes, I did, but I will repeat it – because this music is boring, primitive and just bad. Waste of time.

Optophobic was supposed to be an atmospheric black metal project of guy, who calls himself God Eater. Supposedly, because for me it’s not really an atmospheric BM, but just primitive, rough and again really badly composed, performed and recorded stuff that does not deserve anyone’s attention. First thing, which caught my ears was programmed drumming that annoys the shit out of me. Then we hear some badly performed vocals. And again music, which sometimes sounds almost silly, so irritating and bad it is. Not a single riff is here, which I would like, not a single fragment, which would make me think that it’s something actually worthy. It’s barely listenable and quickly forgettable. I still cannot imagine people liking such low quality stuff and I am surprised that there are labels interested in releasing it (it definitely is the worse Putrid Cult release so far!). And I am surprised that whoever stands behind projects like this are not ashamed giving it to the world. No wonder then that they’re hiding behind silly pseudonyms. This home recording shouldn’t leave your bedroom, mate!

Optophobic may have been a tad better than Coffinshade, but all together they putted a damn crap release, no recommendation at all. The worst CD I’ve heard this year.

Final rate: 20/100