Final Coil - The World We Left Behind For Others

 I am glad to see that Final Coil is not stuck in its ways, as “The world we left behind for others” is definitely different from “Persistence of memory” as the sound is grittier and more in your face than on their debut. The band is more certain of themselves as a unit and this shows in the composition, as they combine stoner rock and some doom influences with prog to create a broader sound. The reverb of the guitars and the intensity of the vocals drive most of the music, and create kind of an all-around bleak atmosphere, which can be heard from the start as the neither ominous nor overly atmospheric intro, “Ash’s” gets the ball rolling and sets the mood for the what is to follow. And what follows is a story that is both personal and universal, relevant and affecting about the consequences of a lack of communication be it within a families or within society as a whole.

 Generally, the album is pretty linear and straightforward, but there are a few songs that stood out while listening to the album. If “The last battle” delivers what we are used to hearing from Final Coil, namely hefty riffs and preeminent bass lines, “Scattered dust” is a rather mellow and downbeat piece of music with some aggressive parts and moody riffs that seems to act like a bridge between the sound of “Persistence of memory” and the darker sound of this record, and it’s nice to see this transition. The emotional and haunting “Imaginary trip” is also worth mentioning here as the piano melody coupled with some sulky guitar lines and the general light and cinematic atmosphere make for a breezy yet sad song, while the closing title track is a mix of doom metal a la Paradise Lost with some Katatonia vibes and nifty riffs that is quite engaging. In between these songs we have the catchy and heavy Empty handed”, the melodic and grungy Keeping going and some interludes (“Take me for a walk” and “One more drink…”) that tie this album together neatly. If last time (see review) I had a minor problem with the vocal delivery, in the sense that it was kind of samey, this time around Phil Stiles stepped up his game a bit and delivered a diverse and angry vocal performance, that plays well with the theme of the album.