Cough is a rather new project on the Sludge/Stoner Doom front featuring a trio of musicians, for once on the East coast of America. Since 2005 Cough have been playing their toked up and blasphemic style of nearly satanic sludge doom metal. Having seemingly stolen the drummer from The Sword* (though a good decision it was as The Sword's reviews don't seem to be the best these days) and with both David Cisco and Parker Chandier on vocal duties in the absence of Chris Kirby, Cough packs a hard-hitting old school punch from the sludge doom side with a very psychedelic atmosphere to smoke up the room to.
The listener who receives this album will initially notice the interesting artwork, Silver on black artwork featuring ornate drawing that include, amongst other things, pentagrams, marijuana leaves, and a hendecagram, or an eleven-pointed star. Typically the eleven-pointed star (11/2) is used in the Aleister Crowley Foundation as its primary symbol, but the one featured on the album cover is of 11/4 symbology. The artwork here describes, pretty much in complete detail, what you're about to find throughout the music. Heavy layers of Blasphemy with perhaps a bit of a misanthropic mix, and the heavy fog of pot smoke and Black Sabbath worship to add a bit of green flavor to the mix.
The production on the album is of the highest quality and is definitely of note as well, as the ever-increasingly well known producer Sanford Parker (perhaps known primarily for his work with the psychedelic black metallers Nachtmystium) managed to get his grubby little paws on this beauty as well. As you'd expect, we've got pretty traditional doom vocals at first but quickly the album turns into a blackened pit of despair and hatred. With production like this and the backing of a label quickly making a name for themselves in Forcefield Records, Cough really stands a large chance in making a name for themselves in this scene, and perhaps even becoming one of the forerunners with the likes of the Southern Lord crew. One of the better releases to come out of the Sludge Hell this year.
http://www.HeathenHarvest.com/article.php?story=2008122311091698
*Joey used to jam with Richmond brothers SWORD before changing their name to LORD BY FIRE. Honest mistake!