Reviewed by Ian Webber

Cottonbomb hail from the grey industrial world of central Germany and have produced a no nonsense album that sits somewhere between metal and blues. The band themselves call the mixture bluescore and they certainly have an individual sound. Whilst you can hear elements of Audioslave in their music they manage to cross this with heavy blues slide guitar and country. Most distinctive in the mix is Martin Scheiter's vocals. He has the power of Glenn Kaiser, but with a much dirtier growl. To match these vocals Cottonbomb's lyrics are rough and raw, touching on issues such as materialism with aggressive bluntness. They are also straightforward in their invitation to faith on "Enter The Door". Listeners, however, should beware, as the lyrics are not just raw, they can also be. . .ahem. . ."colourful". Standout tracks include the opener, "Backyard", which features an infective blues riff that sticks in the memory, and the rhythmic chorus of "One String Of Your Guitar" which is equally as good. This 2004 release is full of muscle, but, in truth, lacks texture and colour leaving it difficult to get through in a single sitting. Landing somewhere between two styles of music may limit the appeal of 'Mississippi Coma', but it is certainly worthy of investigation.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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