Sunday 19 September 2021

Coma Regalia - Ours Is The Cause Most Noble 2x7"


Labels: I.Corrupt Records/Middle-Man Records/Skin & Bones Records/Time As A Color/Zegema Beach Records

Formats: Vinyl/Digital

Release Date: 03 July 2015


Tracklist:


1. The Sleeping Dragon

2. The Knight In The Squire's Imagination

3. The Architect Of The Castle Keep

4. The Artist Lacking Vision

5. The Stone Golem

6. The Leper Within The Walls

7. The Magician's Clumsy Apprentice

8. The Lich With A Heart Of Gold

9. The Undead Swordsman

10. The Thief Who Craves Capture

11. The False Healer

12. The Many Who Became One


I'm back on the ZBR trail today after another less than productive week. I'm sorry about the irregular nature of things at the moment. Ours Is The Cause Most Noble was released in mid-2015 and is the second of six (so far) full-lengths from US emoviolence/hardcore mainstay Coma Regalia. It wasn't released as a conventional full-length on a conventional 12" LP though. Instead Shawn went for a double 7" release with handmade screen-printed gatefold covers, limited to 500 covers. I'm not sure if this is a concept album of sorts, as there is a medieval/castle theme throughout and Shawn did perform on and help to release a tape for a project called Knights Of Ganymede in 2018, so who knows!


If you’re at all familiar with Coma Regalia (and if you’ve visited this blog at all over the last few years, you should be!), then you’ll know that the band essentially plays fast yet musical hardcore/screamo. That formula though has alway been tweaked by Shawn and the end results sometimes come as a surprise. The album’s opener ‘The Sleeping Dragon’ acts as a short intro yet there’s a full-band approach that leads into ‘The Knight In The Squire’s Imagination’. The thing that strikes with me with Coma Regalia whenever I listen to them is the guitar melodies. They’re always really epic and here, they take centre stage while clean singing can be heard deeper in the mix. There’s a build-up in the middle before a dramatic latter-half, where the harsher vocals and drums kick in again.


The other thing I love is Coma’s ability to create intense and instantly enjoyable songs, like the more punk influenced duo ‘The Architect Of The Castle Keep’ and ‘The Artist Lacking Vision’. Both have really driving rhythms and catchy riffs, with the latter of the two containing some chaotic emoviolence for good measure. ‘The Stone Golem’ highlights how good the band’s longer songs are. The song-writing that goes into them shows a level of care and thought, that carries on through the rest of the album.


I can’t put my finger on what other bands this reminds me of, so I’m not going to try and pluck names out fo the air. That distracts from the music and is lazy filler sometimes (something I’ve been guilty of in the past). ‘The Leper Within The Walls’ seems to have slight undertones within it’s riffs, being darker somehow. The feedback at the start of ‘The Magician’s Clumsy Apprentice’ is an audible reminder of the band’s DIY ethos, though that doesn’t mean it’s a lo-fi song. It isn’t, as the recording seems to be so full. Off-kilter rhythms take the lead on ‘The Lich With A Heart Of Gold’, which help to give it a proper old-school emo sound alongside the melodic guitar and the harsh/clean dual vocals. It’s fantastic! 


There’s a move to longer songs during the album’s second half and though that might not be by design, it’s certainly no hardship listening-wise. ‘The Undead Swordsman’ is much more instrumental, with the vocals taking more of a sensitive position in the song. It’s atmosphere is amplified because of that as well. ‘The Thief Who Craves Capture’ is more traditional in it’s nature (in screamo terms I guess). It still has plenty of punk in and tempo changes aplenty. Penultimate song ‘The False Healer’ is a beautiful piece of music, complete with calming violin from Ari Quinn Decker. It’s short but it leads neatly into album closer ‘The Many Who Became One’, which provides a passionate and emotive ending. 


Coma Regalia is a band with such a broad and extensive discography. Like the rest of that discography, Ours Is The Cause Most Noble should be explored and enjoyed in it’s full glory.


You can stream and purchase Ours Is The Cause Most Noble digitally below:-



Shawn and his family are facing a tough time right now, as they've been told they have to vacate the property they've lived in for the last 22 years. You can help them by picking up releases from the Middle-Man Records bandcamp page above or from the online store below:-

https://middlemanrecords.storenvy.com


Also, a Gofundme page has been set up here - https://www.gofundme.com/f/decker-family-moving-fund.


Coma Regalia - https://www.facebook.com/comaregalia


Copies are also available from the labels below:-


Time As A Color - https://timeasacolor.com/

Zegema Beach Records - CAN/INTL - http://www.zegemabeachrecords.com/


I.Corrupt Records - https://www.facebook.com/icorruptrecs

Middle-Man Records - https://www.facebook.com/middlemanrecords

Time As A Color Records - https://www.facebook.com/timeasacolor

Zegema Beach Records -  https://www.facebook.com/zegemabeachrecords

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