Tuesday, May 8, 2012

INTERVIEW: Getting irresponsible with Cough

Among the slowest, sludgiest and doomiest bands to play the 2012 Maryland Deathfest is Richmond, Virginia's Cough. They take the stage Sunday afternoon, May 27. And I would say they have the right attitude about the whole point of the festival.

"Looking forward to the party! We're gonna be around for the whole fest so let's get irresponsible," said bassist Parker Chandler.

The music of Cough expresses anguish, despair, and utter misanthropic ennui to the nth degree. Just when you think drummer Joe Arcaro has slowed the pace down as slow as it can go and still be a rhythm, he loses another beat. Parker might average three notes a minute on his bass and guitarists David Cisco and Brandon Marcey can sustain a tone for as long as they like, so don't hold your breath. Vocals are plaintive and desperate.

Don't let me give you the wrong impression, however. This is powerful, cathartic, and expressive music. They take their time developing the groove and then work around the riff until you can't take anymore. It's not speed metal but its not boring either.

Chill out and check out some of these tunes. They have a 40 minute set at MDF. Cough's average song is 10 minutes long, so they will probably only play three or four songs. But what will be on their set list?

"Without giving too much away, we plan on playing a song we've never played live. Other than that, it's all up in the air," Parker said in an email.

Cough has shows scheduled before and after MDF. "We're playing at The Bell House in Brooklyn with Yob on May 23rd. After MDF we start a tour with Dragged Into Sunlight that will take us down to Austin for Chaos in Tejas," he said.

And don't forget to stop by their mech table while you are shopping for your 1000th black band t-shirt.

"We've got some beer coozies. We'll also have some vinyl copies of our first record and our split with The Wounded Kings," Parker said.
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