Transition. That’s what comes to mind once you fire up Final Coil‘s new chapter The World We Inherited. You see, their 2019 piece The World We Left Behind for Others never quite made it through boot camp here. A heavy listen, relatively rough-hewn, and often a bit frazzled around the edges.
Yet here, you get the increased power of a dronish version of Gojira on steroids, a new-found heaviness, and increased refinements that weren’t quite there before. And as the latter navigate the treacherous waters of environmental issues, the band around Phil Stiles raise the specter of a dystopian and corrupt world full of Orwellian prophecies. Now, don your beaked masks, and don’t look at the cameras. Room 101 beckons you!
Final Coil truly perfected this knack to create menacing yet melancholy-soaked, dystopian soundscapes with frugal means. Barebone, almost bleak drum work, the merciless hollers and sinister crooning of one Phil Stiles, and Jola Stiles‘ somber bass compilations. And don’t forget the haunted keys and roughly ambient post-rock interludes, guitars that ominously seem to stick to the rhythm section somewhere, just to erupt into often simple but compelling riffs and rough-hewn solos. It all somewhat pulls from a dark energy that seems to emanate straight from some abandoned asylum. And after a few listens, you’ll start looking over your shoulders. To the point that you constantly get visions of armies of thugs in gas masks and rubber boots, wielding iron rods, and marching mercilessly toward you.
Interestingly, Final Coil score all those brownie points on simple if not simplistic song structures that are often ripe with sometimes endless repetitions. And that’s one critique – by the way – that got former reviews a pretty bad rap. But on The World We Inherited, the RMR crew found a delicate balance of hypnotic and somewhat repetitive drone and subtle dissonance that led to an oppressive and heavy atmosphere worthy of the theme.
The record often vacillates between pseudo-ambient synth torture and parts that started to sound like crimes of the Tate-era Queensrÿche1 might have committed once the madhouse truly burned down and the inmates escaped (By Starlight, for instance). But the record also likes its noodlin’ about the soundscape a tad too much at times. Interludes like Out of Sorts hint at some progression that finally never arrives. And that’s where the balance of too many hypnotic pills and red-hot rock didn’t work too well anymore. So, a bit of self-editing would have worked wonders in certain dark and swampy corners of this album.
And whilst sometimes you’ll almost find yourself back in the sleepy world of Somnanbulant II, suddenly violence erupts. The soggy and rough world of Chemtrails captured the essence of the record to perfection. A track that expertly works on heavy chugging riffs and leans more into metal than it probably should. And it gives you a glimpse of a world where the authorities are overly powerful and you can’t escape their terrible messaging. Nor can you avoid their casual brutality towards their lower minions.
And speaking about potent heavy rock, tracks like Humanity really made my day. At first, this concoction wildly bounces about haunting electronics and misplaced calls. Just to suddenly assault you with stellar alt-rock progression like some sort of crazed lava stream. All of that comes fueled by Stiles‘ grinding rasps and snarls, thundering drums, and meaty riffing. And soon enough the track exudes an oppressive feeling as if you just got hit by a friggin’ freight train. Oh, and this will be one deadly track to play on stage and watch the audience cook off on it.
Ultimately, The World We Inherited truly delivered what it promised. A red-hot depiction of a hellish and poisonous vision of a human habitable zone. One that is not only brought about by self-made environmental woes2 but also by authoritarian and secretive power structures trying to foist their often narcissistic and megalomaniacal notions upon us. And there’s frankly no better way to shove this sense of dread into your frontal lobe than using a monologue from a theorist waffling on about ‘The Civilization’ and its dreary future. Delivered in polished UK English, no less, and backed by some scratchy and often hypnotic alt-rock to massage the messaging into a tangible menace fueled by melancholy and dread.
So, for those who wish to explore some sort of a mixture of Guantanamo Bay and Orwell 2.0, this is your record. But make no mistake, The World We Inherited ain’t no easy fare and it will hungrily demand your attention. And it is an unholy and scary brand of hunger. Do step in, but always remember the number to dial on the next telephone. Or you will never escape that glitch in the matrix. Just sayin’.
Record Rating: 7/10 | Label: Sliptrick Records | Web: Official Band Site
Release Date: 16 January 2024
