Tapping into transcendental notions of their proposed ancestral vein in order to summon a second diabolically surreal experience Dublin, Ireland-based death/black metal quartet COSCRADH reappear in brightened fidelity and increasingly succinct accost on this sophomore full-length album. Harried as it is surreal ‘Carving the Causeway to the Otherworld‘ amounts to a conjuration of malign force which once again escapes the feral limitations of bestial death metal through higher standards of authorship, reaching for unheard-of nox rather than the status quo. Though they’ve had to slough off some of their rusted mania for the sake of precision riffcraft and general clarity of performance here the end result is beyond worthy.

Coscradh formed as a quartet back in 2015 assumedly as the vision of guitarist/vocalist Ciarán Ó Críodáin beyond his prior group Nimh Stil. There are some analogous features shared with that previous project but certainly not the feral bestial blackened death metal this new invention’d brought beyond 2016, a sound which would notably transform beyond the noisome warfare of their first couple of small releases (re: the ‘Crá Aosta‘ compilation). The solidification of the core line-up arguably occurred around 2019 as that largely restaffed crew was responsible for breakthrough howler ‘Mesradh Machae‘ 7″ EP and the insanity of their debut LP (‘Nahanagan Stadial‘, 2022). The first record was a truly mad act of bestial black/death metal which’d been compared to everything from Black Curse to Teitanblood (I’d say Zom is worth a mention too eh) at the time but represented something far more maniac, unhinged yet somehow conceptual. There was some depth there in the same way an old Absu record might’ve, acres of symbolism and possessed narration beneath blitzing attack. Anyhow, I’d said well enough in review back in 2022 but I’ll reiteration that that album offered an ideal example of not-so-commercial extreme metal act generating its own ambitious atmosphere and personage.

‘Carving the Causeways to the Otherworld‘ appears to once again revive the spirits of the war-torn dead, the natural philosopher found within the druidic tradition, in order to craft unhinged cinema from both convictions and tribulations. The lyrics herein partly access ancient genetic memory gleaned from exposure to the land and its folklore, suggesting rituals and scientific pontification within what is described as a resurrection of the warrior priest. Part of this connection includes accessing the Irish language for lyrics (re: “Adhradh Dé Ghoac” b/w “Badhah’s Shadows”) as their embodiment of the broad ethos and legendry of the Celtic druid turns out to be more extensive than expected. Somewhere buried in the depth of their over-arcing concept Coscradh access what is simultaneously spiritual in summon and destructive in motion.

The sound of chains milling in-device offers the first of three brief ambient swells (via Michał “The Fall” Stępień of Hauntologist and Mgła) which appear throughout the full listen (see: “The Calling” interlude and parts of the closing piece.) In this case it only just begins to set a scene as the introductory trudge of “Five Fifths Awaken” feeds tension directly into the title track. Just thirty seconds into “Carving the Causeway to the Otherworld”, nearby where the tippling bass guitar riff first hits, it is clear that Coscradh‘ve arrived no less feral in their scrape on this second cycle but notably all the more clarified by sharpened production values and tightened musicianship as they lean away from outright war metallic fracas. As was the case with the prior LP they tear through these songs while oftentimes dumping huge swathes of highly detailed congestion in tow. This time around this is made a bit easier to follow thanks to the aforementioned higher fidelity recording/mix alongside shorten song lengths.

Elsewhere we find some notable change in the vocal dynamic where a more cracking echoic rasp comes wide-eyed and howling via der leader complete with the raven-shrieked bits found on the previous LP but the secondary/backing vocals provide something a bit different along the way. Beyond thickened layers of madness, those wailing forces of malaise also include a guttural, almost croaked vocal (starting w/”Adhradh Dé Ghoac”) which may remind folks of earlier Inquisition or Immortal. The effect is ear-crushing in a way that is yet directly linked to Coscradh‘s previous work but less of a backgrounded milling of beasts; Beyond that point in the running order we find standout Side A closer “Caesar’s Revelation (Hibernia L. VI V. XIV ad XVI et XXIV)” acting as a key point of impact, another showcase of wild guitar noise and brilliantly exaggerative vocal histrionics. It is arguably a small detail but I’d particularly loved the ‘old school’ but not too scribbled-at solo around ~55 seconds into the song, recalling something like “Fire, Death, Fate” in how it interacts with the rush of the rhythms behind, eventually returning nearby the ~3 minute mark.

The true nuke drops with the arrival of Side B as the titanic thrum of “Scythe of Saturn” sours into a cacophony of Angelcorpse-worthy riffcraft, myriad lead guitar havoc, and an inverted black metal gallop rooting all actions. Around ~3:22 minutes into the song the underworld chorales which hum from below help to further characterize the piece beyond chaotically fuming quick-turned brutality creating some real contrast with the otherwise precision slashed rhythms which start and end their tirade. Much as I’d like to say it is the best song on the album the whole second half is worthy, even more deranged and experimentally heated than the first leaving some of Coscradh‘s biggest thrashed-at riffs for last. The nine and a half minute pull-out offered by “Opening the Gates to Styx, Nix, Kerberos and Hydra” is fittingly dramatic in its doomed plod including a big, gravel-gritted bass guitar tone slowly up-ticking use of guitar effects which help the piece devolve into empyreal collapse.

In this increasingly pathetic tech-psychotic age of formerly respectable bands (and labels) giving up the ghost with embarrassing use of AI generated album “art” it is awesome to see Coscradh opting for another cover illustration from Khaos Diktator Design and a damned good one. Rather than pull in a whole pantheon this time they’ve depicted a scene wherein Saturn is winding up for another swipe at a planetary body, orbited by horrors and nearly surfing on a Gaelic column. It is one of the better painterly album covers I’ve come across in a while which also perfectly represents the maniac actions found within ‘Carving the Causeway to the Otherworld‘. — If there is any brilliancy to be gleaned from this album’s overall impression it lies not only within Coascradh‘s uniquely brazen, high-rate expressivity with but also how those ideas are represented through inspired curation. It all amounts to a grand hexation of the senses, a nauseating thrash through myriad visions set behind ancient eyes. A very high recommendation.

---