Album review: Swamp Coffin – Drowning Glory

When Swamp Coffin’s debut full-length Noose Almighty generated considerable underground buzz in 2021, the Rotherham outfit were in no place to celebrate. Deaths in the family and serious mental health issues within the band left them in a place where playing no longer felt like a priority, perhaps not even a possibility. However – as many people reading this will agree – music can prove some of the best therapy available, and as time passed, these and earlier traumatic experiences were channelled into the set of songs that make up Drowning Glory.

Unsurprisingly, the worldview navigated here is not over-endowed with positivity: Terminally Cursed functions as a sort of Swamp Coffin motto, while other titles include Know You’re Worthless and This Was Always Going To End In War. This is sludge in its classically caustic form, as relentlessly overwhelming as quicksand. Frontman Jon Rhodes’ vocals often shade into death metal territory, as harsh as his lyrics are nihilistic.

But if Drowning Glory is a long way from easy listening, it also finds the trio adept at songs that are memorable and well-crafted, even catchy. The title-track and Chapter And Hearse (yes, there are some excellent gallows humour puns on offer here) feature riffs that could rival Crowbar's Kirk Windstein or Sleep and High On Fire guitar legend Matt Pike for grimy grace and pure power; the latter tune in particular wields sonic light and shade to tremendous effect. Throughout the album, a Sabbathian sense of groove allows for an amount of warmth entirely unexpected given the bleak subject matter.

Undoubtedly cathartic for its creators, and strong stuff for all who come into contact with it, Drowning Glory is essential listening indeed.

Verdict: 4/5

For fans of: Crowbar, High On Fire, Kurokuma

Drowning Glory is out now via APF