It would be a stretch to say that there has been a surge of black/death/whatever metal bands embracing WWI history in their music in recent years, but we would be remiss to say that there haven’t been a number of acts to bring to the war to the light. It’s really been 1914 and Minenwerfer that has been my main focus, but that doesn’t mean other small acts have sprung up to bring more populace to the idea. With their debut EP, Polish act Coffinwood seeks to do just that and they’ve done so in exquisite fashion!

You could easily sit here and say that many, if not most, bands coming out now to have any material related to WWI are trying to ride on the success of 1914, but I would disagree and rather say they were possibly an influencing force. With Coffinwood, they really make the sound their own with their own voracious blend of black and death metal to make for an absolutely scathing record that holds nothing back in terms of musical intensity or lyrical matters. Everything about “Storm of Steel” is an absolute deluge of shrapnel that was always explosive at every turn even as Coffinwood expertly used audio clips of all sorts to accompany the time period as they charge through our presence with songs pertaining to delicious subjects like mustard gas and white phosphorous. The entirety of this record absolutely smashes through everything in its path as Coffinwood were hellbent on creating a visceral experience that very much mirrors the time period that they’ve drawn influence from, and there’s no doubt in my mind whatsoever that they’ve captured it perfectly for a listen that becomes just as satisfying as it is harrowing in every sense. There are plenty of things that they could’ve done better to make “Storm of Steel” a better experience overall, but we’d be remiss to say that they didn’t hit it out of the park here to greatly defy any expectations that we may have had before diving into this content.

I demand to see a tour now of Coffinwood, 1914, and Minenwerfer because that is exactly what we need, and it would be a magnificent series given the intense quality that they would all bring to the table with Coffinwood not lagging behind in the least with the material that we’re given here being no less than top-notch. Of all the things that could’ve happened with “Storm of Steel”, I truly believe Coffinwood achieved the best case scenario with this album and I absolutely cannot wait to hear what else they can do!

LISTEN to “Storm of Steel” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Coffinwood on Facebook here.