Review by Vinny for Coprolith - Putrescence (2026)

If you’re going to essentially name your band “fossilized faeces” then you darn well better had make sure that your sound is some heavy shit. I can assure you dear reader, that box is firmly ticked on Putresence. Canadians, Coprolith waste absolutely no time whatsoever on their debut full length, coming straight out of the stocks fully armed with all manner of limbs, torn from previous unsuspecting listeners, being brandished like weapons and trophies at the same time. Ranging somewhere between the near crawl of death doom and the more mid-paced muddiness of modern acts like Fetid, Coprolith tread a consistent path in terms of quality yet are unafraid to stretch just enough to show that they have varied influences also.

Except you don’t pick up records such as this to find dashes of progressive wankery or lightning-fast solos. You pick up albums like these because they have ghastly artwork (a modern Altars of Madness take is what jumps to mind here) and even nastier, in fact fucking filthy, contents. Riffs carry weight and groove in equal amounts. The vocals are cavernous, reverberating around the room as you listen. The bass motoring along as but a distant rumble in the background whilst the drums chart a solid yet varied path across the tracks. Pacing and tempo ease down through gears seemingly effortlessly and just when you think we can’t go any lower you come back into consciousness face down on the floor of the bowels of Hades itself.

‘Defiling Incantation’ is a real standout track for the overall journey it takes you on as it shifts effortlessly in front of your very ears and eyes. Yet ‘Birthed by Remorseless Flames’ is straight out for the jugular, coming immediately afterwards with an almost jaunty, bouncy rhythm being deployed. Putresence is almost like a lesson in controlled ultra-violence, pitching that the speed of the attack is no more or less important than the intensity you generate in building into the offensive. In a way, you could argue that there is a bit of a loss of identity, or more likely a lack of clarity in some regards as the album does make changes regularly. However, to my ears at least, Coprolith have made a fantastic debut. It is a clear and believable statement of intent. Bring on the sophomore folks!