Coma Noir has definitely received the most plays out of any album I have reviewed thus far. To be frank, this album has serious album of the year list potential. I don't normally like to just throw that around, especially when we are not even a quarter of the way through the year yet, but I'm very impressed with this release. I had heard excellent reviews of the previous work of The Atlas Moth, but before listening to this album had no experience with the band.
Coma Noir doesn't really have a specific genre (a recurring theme in albums I have been reviewing of late), but I would place it in the same realm as Neurosis, primarily sludge with a wide array of diverse sounds placed throughout. The second song on the album, "Last Transmission from the Late, Great Planet Earth" seems to channel both Converge and Coheed and Cambria, a statement I really never thought I would make. The primary guitar riff, as well as the lead parts played along with it, almost perfectly combine the best work of the two bands mentioned above. The title track, on the other hand, brings the band towards more of an extreme metal sound, particularly with the quality of harsh vocals. That being said, this album does seem to be very chorus heavy, with "Galactic Brain" having a clean chorus that anyone would want to sing along to.
I think that the first half of the album really shines, with perhaps the most diverse track album being "The Streets of Bombay", which contains clever guitar riffs and the most dynamic range on the album. "Galactic Brain", as mentioned before, is another standout track in the first half of the album. The main riff of "Galactic Brain" seems to be greatly influenced by some of the riffs off of Epicus Doomicus Metallicus by Candlemass, particularly "Solitude". "Actual Human Blood" contains a section that reminds me of a sped up Pallbearer, starting around the two minute and thirty-four second mark, with a rhythm guitar and a lead guitar playing two harmonizing progressive sections that sounds rather amazing. Every song in this half is rather distinct and unforgettable, really incomparable to much else being released so far this year.
The first half of the second half of the album (I know, a bit confusing), starting with "Smiling Knife", is a pinch less compelling. "Smiling Knife" reminds me too much of a song that would come off one of Converge's last two albums for me to really think it is as good as any of the songs off of the first half. "Furious Gold" is also by no means a bad song, but has a great deal of Mastodon influence, which is especially noticeable around the two minute and fifteen second mark in this song. The main riff to this song is, to be frank, heavy as hell, and I really appreciate this song simply for that fact. This song also has some great lead/mini-solo points, but these points also seem to be seeping with Brent Hinds influence. I think that the best piece of the entire song is perhaps the shortest, which starts around the three minute and fifteen second mark. This section contains a distant, reverb heavy guitar passage over a thundering bass and drums that reminds me of a psychedelic Behemoth.
This brings me to the worst song on the album, "The Frozen Crown", which has a sort of camp to it that can somewhat be compared to some of the work of the great Devin Townsend Project, but not really at all. The general production on this song, with its melodic parts and heavy use of synths, reminds me of all of the worst parts of DTP. I wouldn't even mind this song if it didn't have the "Hey do you ever wonder, if your brain's been disconnected, it would say I'm disconnected?" section in it, which is repetitive and makes me cringe. This album would definitely be around a 9.5/10 if it weren't for this terrible, cringeworthy section. The lead section at around the three minute and forty second mark, as well the echoing "BAH"'s in the background at the three minute mark remind me of a worse "March of the Poozers" off of DTP's Z2.
The last song on the album, "Chloroform", started out as one of favorites of the album, with the clear death-doom sound during the first three minutes (think Paradise Lost), with slow drums and slow, booming guitars, but falls flat around the three and a half minute mark. This section contains a clean sung section which starts with the normal clean vocals that repeat throughout the album, but quickly goes into this very strange, extremely deep line that is rather indescribable without simply hearing it for yourself. Its really, really, stupid however, and when L. Saunders from Angry Metal Guy described it as a "brief , goofy vocal hiccup", I think he found the best words to put to this section. The rest of the song after this section is not bad, but it unfortunately does not recover.
I adore the production on this album. Its clear, in your face, and direct, but it isn't too loud. The guitar tone of all three guitarists really shines and the bass is clear and consistent. The drumming of David Kush is strong and potent, but is perhaps the least inventive element of the band, but I think that is simply because of where the band finds itself musically. It resides in the middle of all of the various, psychedelic, hardcore, and extreme metal influence that this album takes in. The psychedelic influence is strong and unique, creating an interesting presence on an album that could most traditionally be described as sludge. I really appreciate both the high, screeching harsh vocals Stavros Giannopoulos, which find themselves in the middle of Travis Ryan from Cattle Decapitation and Jacob Bannon from Converge. I have heard that some find these vocals monotonous, but I wholeheartedly disagree. The clean vocals, while less unique, definitely do add some depth to the music. Some of my favorite moments on the album are clean vocal passages on "The Streets of Bombay" and "Galactic Brain".
Apart from the few moments when I really don't like this album, I really LOVE it. I have listened to this album probably over a dozen times in the past week and really can't stop listening. I love the lyrics and the subject matter of this record, as well as the experimental, multifaceted approach. For some odd reason, the progression of the album and the degree to which this group experiments with their sound reminds me of Anaal Nathrakh, who I am anxiously awaiting a new album from.
I'm going to give this album an 8.5/10, as I really love it, but "The Frozen Crown" prevents me from giving it any higher score.
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