Uncoffined - Ritual Death and Funeral Rites (2013)

   Since the British metal scene have a long and glorious past in doom metal, it's not really surprising if great doom metal or doom related bands are showing up from there. And if it's about the extreme underground, it seems like the best possible outcome happens in case of doom related bands. 
   Somehow British death/doom always works better than British death metal in general, and for this only the sound is responsible. For instance it matters less how great and intense themes could be heard by bands like Bolt Thrower or Benediction (and by their follower younger bands), if the sound is so dull, that it completely pulls back the intensity and the raw spirit that supposed to be exposed in the genre. And it seems like a local style feature or trademark like the so called buzzsaw sound in Swedish death metal. However, this is not an issue if it's about death/doom, since the "dull" sound fits way better to slow, monotonous themes. In case of Uncoffined, the whole picture is more evident than ever, cause by high singing vocal style and just a slightly softer sound, "Ritual Death and Funeral Rites" would be an excellent doom metal album. The themes are basically the same like what could have been heard from '80s doom metal bands. It's not an exaggeration to say that it's death/doom without death metal themes, but the combination of the growling vocals and some barely noticeable differences have been enough to not look at the record as some '80s nostalgia, though it definitely is. Even though the same could be said about almost the whole British metal scene in general at some point, it doesn't always seem disadvantageous, and some bands (Uncoffined also) even embracing the whole thing by adding further vintage references. So there are some specific sound and style features that have been created in the '80s, and like a copy/paste sample further used during the following decades in almost every metal styles on some level. Sometimes it turns out pretty good, sometimes less advantageous (like in case of death metal). Maybe this perspective shows the whole British scene less diverse or experimenting and way more monotonous than how it seems for most, but probably it's not too far from reality. However, Uncoffined's debut might be a potential favorite for both the fans of doom and death metal by their vintage style and similarly ancient horror based concept.