The duo Coma Hole return to present their album.
In 2022, Eryka Fir (bass/vocals) and Steve Anderson (drums, Deified) gave us a taste of their style with their first EP, which they confirm on Hand of Severance.
After a radio sample, Alphaholics introduces us to a sound packed with heady, abrasive effects that complement the duo’s natural groove, complemented by more soaring vocal parts. The contrast eventually becomes quite natural, but darkens again with the opening notes of Nevermind, which offers a similarly saturated but rather different sound, rougher and drier than the previous track, but calms down as it welcomes that intense solo, ending in feedback. Rivermouth follows with strong Stoner influences to create mysterious, almost mystical passages as the rhythmic builds to a blaze before the final, then it’s with Luster that the band sets dark tones. The pace is also a little slower, allowing for a melancholy-tinged approach as on the central break, but the sound accelerates again to deliver dissonant leads and finally lead us to the ominous King Bee. The composition mixes the band’s influences and turns into a veritable haphazard dance between energetic hard rock and heavy doom, letting the vocals guide us through the playful haze to land on the lively NOOSES, where the singer joins in to enliven an already solid, fat rhythm section, letting the thick flow sail through to bring the album to a very soothing close.
Coma Hole fills us with greasy abrasive tones, giving them different shades on Hand of Severance, making the album the perfect companion to wait for milder temperatures.
80/100
A few questions to Eryka Fir, bass player and vocalist for the Psychedelic Doom duo Coma Hole.
Hello and first of all, thank you very much for your time! How could you introduce the band Coma Hole without using the musical labels such as “Doom Metal” or “Psychedelic”?
Eryka Fir (bass/vocals): I tend to say we are a heavily fuzzed out, Grungy Stoner Metal bass & drums duo.
What does the name Coma Hole mean to you, and how is the link with the music you create?
Eryka: When coming up with the name I kinda scrawled a bunch of words I like down and just kept making combinations until something stuck out to me. From there I sort of derived what the meaning was for me. There have been numerous interpretations of it, but for me it represented where a lot of my inspiration for writing music comes from. Usually when I’m feeling down in the pits, almost at a numbing indifference to things, is where I draw creativity from.
The band is about to release its first full-length Hand of Severance. How do you feel about it? Do you already have any feedback?
Eryka: We’ve gotten some pretty good feedback from close friends of ours we’ve shown it to, and from others who have listened to the single we released. I went back and forth revising things on it for a while before I felt confident in it, but I would say now we are both pretty excited for everyone to hear it.
How would you sum Hand of Severance’s identity up in only three words?
Eryka: Rage and indifference.
How did the creation process happen for Hand of Severance? Did you notice some changes or evolutions compared to the EP?
Eryka: Some of the songs we had already been playing since we released the EP, others came later. They all were pretty much written though when I had a lot of serious changes happening in my life, so it became a chronicling of that time period. I think we both have grown as songwriters since the EP, and there was a much clearer concept and direction this time.
What about the artwork, what were the guidelines you gave the artist and how does it fit with the music you created? Is there a concept behind the album?
Eryka: I create all the artwork for the band, so often I either sit with the songs and try to envision something or sometimes I already have the artwork and will try to draw musical inspiration from it. With this album art in particular, I had sketched this design long before we even wrote half the record. I drew this whole other piece that was going to be the art for the record, but then decided it didn’t represent the feeling the album gave me. I returned to this piece and reworked it and it just felt right. Hand of Severance is about lust, loss, addiction, and dealing with the waves of rage and indifference it brings. I felt like I was almost being puppeteered by something outside myself, which I think this art accurately displays.
The band’s sound is of course anchored in fuzzy and psychedelic Stoner/Doom, but how do you manage to create your own touch? What bands you could say are the most inspiring for your music?
Eryka: I pull so much influence from 90s bands. I’m a huge fan of Alice in Chains, Soundgarden and Queens of the Stone Age, and some lesser talked about bands of that decade like Tad, Skin Yard and Gruntruck. I definitely return to them for inspiration when I feel stuck. But I also really enjoy vocal layering and doing other weird spacey things so even if something starts out sounding too on the nose, by the time everything is fleshed out I think it ends up becoming unique, especially once Steve adds percussion. He has similar inspirations, but his drumming influence draws a lot more from Hardcore, Punk or Progressive outfits.
Do you have a favorite song on this album? Or maybe the hardest one to achieve for the album.
Eryka: I’d say King Bee is my favorite song I’ve written on this record. I wouldn’t say there is a “hardest” song to finish per say, but once I went back in and added guitar layers it was tough trying to figure out how to add it in to enhance what Steve and I were already doing and not have it steal the spotlight.
Where do you find your inspiration to create music?
Eryka: I usually find it when I’m feeling incredibly angry or sad, or I find it out in nature.
How and why did you decide to release your album Hand of Severance as an independent album? Would you consider teaming up with a label in the future?
Eryka: We would love to be on a label and we discussed doing that with this record. However, we are still new to how the business side works and we sort of did the order of operations wrong so, next record we will be looking.
Do you think you improved yourself as a musician and songwriter with this new record?
Eryka: I think Steve and I both have, as much as it’s hard to recognize sometimes.
By looking on the internet, I saw that Coma Hole scheduled a US tour on October this year, how do you get prepared for this tour? How do you feel when you’re on stage?
Eryka: The main thing is always figuring out where we are playing and reaching out to find bands to play with. As long as we got that all figured out way beforehand, we kinda don’t sweat about the rest too much. We are going to take it easy on gigs in the two months leading up to tour and just make sure to routinely practice. I really enjoy being on stage and performing, it’s very cathartic and it’s a workout for sure.
Are there any musicians or artists you would like to collaborate with? Whether it is for one song, or maybe more.
Eryka: I’ve always said I’d love to collab with Jerry Cantrell. I also think it’d be rad to collaborate with other duos, like Death from Above 1979. I also adore Royal Thunder and vocally I’d love to collaborate with Mel.
What do you know about the French Metal scene? Are there any bands you know and like?
Eryka: To be honest, I personally do not know too much about the French Metal scene except Gojira (lol). Which I love Gojira and I think them playing the Olympics was a historic event for everyone in the Metal community. I’ll have to do my research though because I’m sure they have an incredible scene.
If you had to organize a concert for Hand of Severance’s release show, which bands would you love to play with? I let you create a poster with Coma Hole and three other bands!
Eryka: If it’s my fantasy answer, I would say Tad, Carnivore, and Babes in Toyland. Weird combo but there’s way too many bands I love to narrow it down.I just think the energy of that show would be really cool.
Last and funny question: which dish would you compare Coma Hole’s music with?
Eryka: Girl dinner (two iced coffees on an empty stomach) or a shot of tequila and a shot of Jack.
That was the last question for me, so thank you very much for your time and your music, last words are yours!
Eryka: Thank you for wanting to interview us! Record comes out 11/1, available everywhere you listen to music.