Blood from the Void: Coffinworm...

There is a continual rumbling din ushered forth from the void whenever Indianapolis' Coffinworm gather to make their pulverizing blackened, death infused doom. The weight and heft in their brand of aural hopelessness is significant and powerful. Their music is a dark art form channeling the desperation in a failing and crumbling society. A bleak modern world view is all that is needed to act as a catalyst for inspiration. Detuned, feedback ridden, clamoring, aggressive, and harsh—the shifting and plying tones and movements Coffinworm generate are sonically corrosive.

The band received many accolades in 2010 for their debut release, When All Became None released on CD by Profound Lore Records and on vinyl by Seventh Rule Records. The Cracked Skull thought very highly of the record placing it as the third best release of last year. And when the band performed live the recorded power was immediately transferred into raw and surging misanthropic energy.

Last year was also a time of transition for the band as one of their original guitarists departed the band. Coffinworm was a four piece, only for a short time, as then drummer Carl Byers moved to guitar while World Eater’s drummer, Josh Schrontz, took command of drumming duties. Vocalist Dave Britts, guitarist Garrett O’Sha, and bassist Todd Manning continued in their original roles with the band. As with any functioning band, the newly revamped line up mastered current songs and began work on new material.

2011 is primed to be a good year for Coffinworm. With the new configuration working well and new material being written, the prospects of sustained devastation from the band are promising. The Cracked Skull caught up with Garrett O’Sha to discuss the process of transition within the band, the writing of new material, what the future holds, and what he listened to most last year.


What's happening in the Coffinworm dungeon of late? How's the shift in personnel coming along?

We are working on songs for our next album and more immediately, a split 7" with Unearthly Trance. We are also preparing to emerge from the catacombs for some live activity soon.

How are the new songs working out, and what can the world expect in terms of sound, tone, inspiration for the new material, and overall destructive qualities?

New incantations are steadily emerging from the void. Naturally, we are trying to create the most hellish and destructive music possible, so don't expect any ballads or sassy dance numbers. There is definitely more of an aggressive death metal attack to some of the new material. As for inspiration, life in our modern world provides more than enough hopelessness to go around.

How has Carl's move to guitar and new drummer, Josh, affected the new songs and the song writing process?

I think the changes have only made us more powerful. Carl and I have played guitar together in other bands, so that chemistry was present already. As for Chubbz (Josh), he and Dave have been raging together in World Eater for years. He fits right in on a personal level and is not only a beast behind the kit, but a stellar guitarist as well and has been making some major riff contributions. He's on fire with that shit right now.

Are you surprised at how well received When All Became None was last year? It made it all the way up to the third spot The Cracked Skull's year end list and many other lists. Not that means all that much in terms of art, but it is great record on many levels. Has there been any pressure to finish up the writing for a new record while in a transitional period of sorts for the band? Are you planning on working with Sanford Parker again on the next release? Any studio experimentation planned?

Thank you. The attention the album received was definitely flattering and we are indeed grateful for the tremendous support we have been shown. The only real pressure for finishing up a new album is that which we've placed on ourselves. If given the choice we will most certainly be recording with Sanford again.


When is the new album due out? I would imagine it's coming out on Profound Lore. Are you planning on working with Seventh Rule again for the vinyl release of the new album? Are there any copies of When All Became None left, or if not are you all thinking about repressing it?

We still have a lot more writing to do, so no release date any time soon. We're shooting to have the album written by the end of this year though. We haven't discussed anything with Seventh Rule yet, but they did a killer job with the vinyl and we would love to work with them again, Goat willing. Profound Lore still has copies of the CD available, but Seventh Rule is all out of the vinyl. Those things went fast! We still have a handful left that we will be selling at upcoming shows. The vinyl will not be repressed.

Feel like dropping any hints on the title of the new album or coming out with it? Maybe some hints on what the cover art will look like?

No album title yet. That's usually one of the last things to be decided on, but it looks like Dusty Neal (http://dustyneal.blogspot.com ) is going to be doing the album art. We're all pretty excited about that.

What's your upcoming show schedule like for 2011? Someone should get a Profound Lore fest going here in Indy with Coffinworm and Apostle of Solitude as a start.

Well, we should be playing here in town with Apostle of Solitude really soon. They have Bob Fouts in their band now. He used to play drums in The Gates of Slumber, so it'll be a very Profound Lore related event. If anybody from Portal or Hooded Menace is reading this, you're welcome to jump on the show. We're playing a few select local shows this spring as well as Bloomington, and we're doing Dudefest again this summer. There might be some road action too, but nothing I can speak about just yet. These are the shows coming up in our immediate future.

March 6th (Indianapolis) @ The Dojo with THOU and OVERPOWER
April 16th (Bloomington) @ The Bishop with Slam Dunk and probably somebody else
June 1st (Indianapolis) @ The Melody Inn with Anhedonist (We're all really digging that band right now.)


What five records from last year really stand out to you? What new releases are you looking forward to this year? Maybe Craft will hit us with a nasty slab of long overdue hate.

Man, honestly, I spent the majority of last year listening to Black Sabbath, but Last Sunrise by Apostle of Solitude was definitely album of the year for me. The new Deathspell Omega, Unearthly Trance and Killing Joke albums all totally kicked my ass too. I am still playing them on the regular and probably will be for a long, long time. Let's see... The Drear by Anhedonist is killer, can't wait to see that band live. And I am absolutely looking forward to new albums from Craft and Rwake.