Coffin Dust – This Cemetery, My Kingdom

Metal Up Your Casket!

The diverse musical fabric of this great country is built on the broad shoulders of local independent scenes. And if it weren’t for these scenes, we may never be introduced to such labels as Unholy Anarchy (a Baltimore-based independent label that focuses on “killer scenes” in their area), or the bands on their label, like Philadelphia’s Coffin Dust. This Cemetery, My Kingdom is Coffin Dust’s debut LP and another notch in the new belt of the ambitious Unholy Anarchy.

No surprises here. This Cemetery, My Kingdom is a mixture of death, thrash and crossover with an emphasis on grave robbing and corpse copulating– you know, dinner conversation. There are moments on this disc that glimmer with references to early Metallica (Cliff Burton) and Slayer as well as familiar genre staples made popular by bands like Carcass, Napalm Death and Entombed. But Coffin Dust are no slouches; these Philly boys are proficient at what they do and can lay down some solid slabs of metal. This Cemetery, My Kingdom is also chock-full of guest musicians from other area bands and label mates, which only makes the previous statement about the importance of local scenes that much more valid.

Regardless of the seriousness of their blistering metal chops and their strong scene ties, Coffin Dust do seem to approach their craft with a bit of tongue-in-cheek humor. When songs titled “Pig Roast,” “Mary Jane Rotten Crotch,” and “Crack Open a Cold One” are played by dudes who call themselves things like Cellar Dweller, Eerie Steve, Slime, and Shreddie Munster, you know it will at least be worth the measly eight bucks just to support them. You would be doing your part to support independent music, plus while you’re at the Unholy Anarchy site, you can pick up a righteous Unholy Anarchy t-shirt for only ten dollars.