CoC : No Room for the Living - Only the Dead Will Survive : Review

No Room for the Living - _Only the Dead Will Survive_
(Independent, 2007)
by: Quentin Kalis (6 out of 10)

Even before the first cacophonous note resonates through my speakers, it is obvious that No Room for the Living lurk in the shallow end of the conceptual pool. Apart form colourful pseudonyms such as Smegma C and Officer Cockshuffle, their lyrical focus does not stray too far from illicit pleasures, OTT gore or black humour. Not that there is much time to develop a song -- this is hardly permitted by the performance of eight songs in sixteen minutes. Strangely, several songs are of an acceptable length, whilst others clock in at less than 20 seconds. The abbreviated numbers tend to blasting, whilst the longer tracks attempted to get a crusty groove going. They seem to be happier with the latter, but I get a feeling they are still attempting to establish themselves on the grind spectrum and consequently the songs feel underdeveloped -- the short blasts such as "Joe" was probably conceived and finalised in less than five minutes. As a final note, get a graphic artist next time: only Carcass can get away with the collage approach!

Contact: http://www.myspace.com/noroomfortheliving

(article published 31/12/2007)