Coffin Feeder - Big Trouble

When an album cover is banned in more countries than existence, that says something. If that doesn’t intrigue, maybe big named vocalists will. Sven de Caluwe is a pretty big name in the Metal world. He’s known for Aborted, System Divide, and even Leng Tche, so when he gets to be part of a new project, people usually want to listen, intriguing album art or not (though I will say that when it comes to ‘intriguing album art,’ I’ll go view Comatose Records releases compared to Listenable Records). The big question is… what direction will it go? So far fans have gotten a taste of Death Metal and Melodeath along with Grindcore from the man, and with Coffin Feeder it looks like over the last few years with EPs and singles, this Belgium based band is diving deep into Deathcore in the vein of the likes of the more bread n’ butter style in the likes of Bodysnatcher, A Night in Texas, and Spite. There is a bit of change in the air though as in the past releases the band focused on more of horror/ serial killer theme similar to that of Aborted, and with the release of Aborted’s last album, maybe there was a feeling it was all ‘been there, done that’ for Coffin Feeder. So, they changed things up in an unexpected way: 80s movies, with a bit of a focus on our favorite governator, Arnold S. In the past it seemed that Austrian Death Machine had the licensing rights to making fun of the man, but now it looks like others are too. Thankfully, Coffin Feeder take more of a broader scope of films rather than JUST Arnie’s arm beatdown of explosive films.

Aside from humorous album art (front and back), “Big Trouble” is a nice homage to those 80s films and shows that bring a diverse form of opinions, but also herald a point of influential points. G.I. Joe, Robocop, Predator, Big Trouble in Little China, Cobra Commander, Commando, They Live… people love and hate those films for whatever reason, but they stand the test of time to countless top 10s or memes to boot with images from those films and quotes. For vocalist Sven, bassist Jan Hallaert who is also part of Sven’s other group Leng Tche, guitarist/ vocalist Jeroen Camerlynck, Bart Govers also on guitars and vocals, and finally Siebe Hermans who has worked with Aborted on drums, the effort put forth is a love letter to both the good and bad moments of these films, with somewhat hilarious lyrics at times to match those bad one liners, and explosive groove to match those exciting explosions. Samples are also thrown in all over the place to boot to match Austrian Death Machine’s movie/ actor love, but the focus is certainly in the riffs and vocals of course (which apparently there is three of them) so this album is pretty loud. For those who are expecting thick downtempo deathcore, this isn’t it. For those expecting melodic choruses among breakdowns, this isn’t it. Like the last Whitechapel album, “Big Trouble” is a basic, head banging effort that is meant to be enjoyed in the fullest, simplest ways.

After a brief intro, things kick off with ‘Porkchop Express.’ Don’t mind the lyrics that will make you laugh; enjoy that chunky groove from the guitars while the vocals spew forth in the ears. Does it sound like older Aborted? Sure it does, just a little less brutal and minus those melodic/ progressive moments. Can one mosh to it? Sure thing. The song speeds up plenty at parts but also has that mid paced stand in place, give the horns, and nod your head type of vibe too. Compared to previous work all the way back on their debut, one could say that Coffin Feeder has gotten less melodic and more mediocre, but even if the riffs have lost that somewhat Groove Melodeath touch like on their first EP, one cannot deny the power behind them. Other tracks like ‘Love at First Death’ have an older Mental Cruelty feel to it more shrieks/ screams are added in an opposed to the typical Winds of Plague bellows among chugs, and uses the samples tastefully in the middle for atmospheric touches before the heavy breakdowns. It is a furious slow neck snapper that is quite enjoyable for the riffs. Other likes ‘Obey’ feature no slow moments and just is a whirlwind of drums and vocals as it steamrolls everything in its path with no mercy, much like Robocop has for his victims. The album does its best to keep hitting all the way through, though there are stalls here and there.

By the time one hits ‘Get to the Party’ the steam of the band seems to let off a little as they fall back into the usual Groove Metal laden Deathcore they’ve been cranking out for the first four tracks, and it feels more like Aborted is dominating the sound again for the most part. One can’t help but go into the expectation that the Aborted sound was going to be a part of this due to members’ influence, but Coffin Feeder really had a chance to go off the rails and give something that barely reminisced any of the bands. Much like when System Divide first came out, many were probably hoping that the band’s full length debut was going to be 80 percent new 20 percent familiar, but it seems like mostly a 60/40 kind of deal, which is great if you do love Aborted or Leng Tche, but not so great if one was looking for a new experience. Thankfully, the band has their back up plans as other track like ‘Let Off Some Steam’- despite the hilarity of the samples and lyrics- features some fantastic beats from the drums and gives something other than chugs and vocals among the breakdowns outlet. Don’t let the name fool you; this one is a song to get up and jump to at a show and includes a good synth outro cooldown moment before the next track. Sometimes the samples go on too long also like the short song ‘H.I.S.S.’ which feels half sample before the vocals jump in, making it seem like more of a filler track than full track, and hits right on the nose for the G.I. Joe Cobra references versus some of the more ‘veiled references’ like that in ‘Plain Zero.’

Love or hate the references, the music structure, whatever, by the time ‘Wrong Arms of the Law’ hits in furious fashion and typical Deathcore slugging of tracks that barely cross three minutes, one can say that overall they had a fun time listening to “Big Trouble.” It might not win ‘album of the year,’ but it has plenty of moments that are going to make listeners stick through the whole thing rather than quit halfway. It might not be as attention demanding as Coffin Feeder’s earlier work with its more ominous approach, but sometimes the direct Deathcore approach is necessary. It is loud, funny, but not obnoxious. For every bad lyric, there’s a strong riff behind it. For every nod to Aborted, there’s at least fifty others to other Deathcore bands out there- big and small- that gives the whole album a somewhat rounded sound despite a few stumbles from the sample placements or certain repetitive song structure choices. It’s a Deathcore super smash fest that will appeal to fans of Blackened Deathcore, straightforward Deathcore, or even Hardcore Deathcore, so get ready to mosh to explosions and shout one liner chargers as one gets immersed in the cheesy gore that is Coffin Feeder’s full length debut. “Big Trouble” is the rumble that one was hoping the Belgium members’ would get into.
  
3.5 / 5 STARS