A fevered dream of unseen forces engaging in deranged possession and infiltration of the remaining dregs of mankind at worlds end, the bloodied ichor of the damned flows throughout this sophomore full-length album from Santiago, Chile-based death metal duo COFFIN CURSE as they return for a second deeper exploration of classic death metal inspired mayhem. Though they do not shy from a mid-paced groove when called for most of ‘The Continuous Nothing‘ is jettisoned forth at ripping speed by way of a cruel hand, assuring the listener engages with the true hammering sound of late 80’s-cum-1990’s death metal and not its overtly commodified umpteenth generational revisionism. That isn’t to say that they’ve produced a plain retro act here but that their aim is above-average in its accuracy and the quality of their songcraft succeeds by way of masterful riffcraft above all else.

Coffin Curse formed back in 2012 lead by the vision of guitarist, bassist and vocalist Max Neira alongside his longtime Inanna bandmate drummer Felipe Zará who’d left both bands ~2017 and was soon replaced by Carlos Fuentes who’d swapped his guitar role in that band for drums at the same time. I’d more-or-less detailed the history of the band leading up to the release of their debut LP (‘Ceased to Be‘, 2020) in my review of said album with the major conclusion being “The frantic skull-shocking riffs of Ripping Corpse, the slaughterous blasts of ‘Dawn of Possession’ and Neira‘s impeccable knack for guiding the necessary dynamic aggression for this sort of thrash-infused death metal riffing all add up to a captivating and wholly brutal spin. Coffin Curse had given the suggestion of this depth on ‘Inward Dissolution’ but ‘Ceased to Be’ unfolds a discography’s worth of death metal riffs within minutes.” and placement at #32 on my Top 100 Albums of 2020. Needless to say I was impressed with the ‘old school’ death metal production values, the death-thrashing treatment of riffcraft, and the shocking energy unleashed within the albums reasonable runtime.

Citing primordial death metal and 80’s spawned originals such as Pentagram (Chl), Deicide, and Immolation these folks have telegraphed well enough what to expect here on this fleshed and still firebrand second album, another riff-obsessed thrashing death metal attack fixated on the original United States death metal sound with their own honed vision applied, not a “retro” death metal styled release but auld standards and arcane sensibilities applied to work befitting of a wizened nowadays artist with the sense to keep it ‘old school’ without dumbing their craft down. The dissonant wheeling movement and boiling-beneath basslines of “Deceased Races” is probably the best example of this up front (see also: “Among the Suffering Souls”), retaining the intensity of ‘Deicide‘ but stretching into both virtuosic and brutal damage to reach a level of melee worthy of ‘Ceased to Be‘ and more-or-less cross the threshold beyond.

Before we get to that point of new-found distinction Coffin Curse do well to lay out what they’re all about within the course of the first two pieces on the album, naturally leaning into the first of a small handful of class ‘Blessed Are the Sick‘-era Morbid Angel-esque nods throughout the full listen as the dual rhythm guitar run that hits its nauseous twist around ~49 seconds into “Thin the Herd” should read as familiar enough in modus. Upward trailing leads, wobbling divebombs, and a general sensation of percussive racing speed kicks should all read as an appropriate level of adrenaline for an opener. The first of several mind-bending pieces to hit in a row beyond this point “Bacchanal of the Mortal” is arguably the best piece to sell this 80’s borne yet late 90’s heavy fusion of death metal which ‘The Continuous Nothing‘ leans into much of the time. We’re not quite at the absolute shotgunned intensity of the full listen just yet but this particular piece does well to set expectations for what’s to come while giving up some blazing riff-runs and a few of the fastest kicks and rolls on the record.

The end of the first half, “Reeking Filth of Ages“, doesn’t interrupt this flow but reinforces it with another blitz-speed thrashing death stab to start, eventually slowing down to hit a decent groove and spike a ‘Formulas Fatal to the Flesh‘ styled lead for effect. Though it appears they might be slowing down given the direction taken at that crucial peak I’d argue the late 80’s-meets-late 90’s ideal only further justifies itself as we cut to the warp-riffed stretches of “Primitive Doctrines Cursed”, one of the major standouts on the full listen for my own taste and a brilliant showcase for their fealty to an era of death metal where riffcraft -and- songcraft were baked in at a peaking standard. Even when dipping past the mid-point of the full listen Coffin Curse‘ve kept the ideas stacked and pouring hot enough that I was still pecking at the details ’til the end and back again over the course of numerous full listens before I’d fully grasped the amount of ground covered on this second record. Again, I’d echo some of my thoughts on their first release in suggesting they’ve packed such a density of ideas and action into each piece here that ‘The Continuous Nothing‘ outshines a lot of the ‘old school’ minded death metal of today by sheer flood of inspiration and their experting command of the form.

When it comes time to consider the whole package we find some further parity with the previous Coffin Curse album as they’ve once again worked with the impressive Daniel Hermosilla (Nox Fragor Art) for the cover artwork and the engineering/mixing was once again via drummer Carlos Fuentes though this time around they’ve handed the mastering duties over to Damian Herring and naturally this has brought out clearer bass guitar presence and a warmer, differently rounded sense of space in general. These elements ensure the container for the Eldritch-haunted brutality of this record hits the eyes and ears with the right level of impact without stretching too far outside the bounds of its underground death metal intentions. Their work will once again primarily catch the ears of folks seeking intense riff obsessed classicist death metal wares and this lines up pretty squarely with my own interests, expanding upon the successes of their debut while better clarifying the intent of their action. This is about all I could ask from a sophomore record in this style. A high recommendation.

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