Release Date March 27th, 2026
Format ECD/MC/Digital
Genre Post Rock, Grunge
Country United Kingdom
Leicester crew Final Coil spent the last eight years grinding through a massive conceptual trilogy of albums, running from "Persistence Of Memory" through to "The World We Inherited". Rising from sweaty local clubs to stepping onto major European festival stages, they put in the hours. Now, they return with the "1994" EP on Nyctophobic Records, dropping the massive conceptual themes to deliver a straight-up alternative metal attack.
This release strips away the huge layers of their older stuff and taps heavily into the 90s grunge and alt-metal explosion. You hear loud echoes of Alice In Chains and Nirvana crashing into punk rock and weird space rock riffs. Having Graham Hopkins behind the drum kit kicks the energy up entirely. He smashes the cymbals loudly and drives the rhythm section, linking up flawlessly with Jola Stiles on bass. The guitars from Phil Stiles and Richard Awdry turn up the fuzz, creating distorted riffs that strike the sweet spot for anyone stuck in the alt-metal glory days.
"1994" rocks heavily. Songs like "Instant Fix" and "Playing Games" deliver catchy choruses mixed with serious distortion. The playing is spot on, and Phil Stiles gives a killer vocal performance. Sometimes this extreme nostalgia trip gets a little predictable, staying strictly inside the 90s grunge sandbox. The riffs do the job, the vocals sound pissed off and melodic simultaneously, and the recording rules. It just leaves you wanting maybe one or two more weird surprises.
Final Coil delivers the goods on this EP. It brings the noise, turns up the distortion, and gives you a proper excuse to wreck your neck. If you dig heavy, fuzzy alt-metal with big hooks, "1994" is totally worth spinning. It is a loud, fun trip to a heavy era.
Score: 7.0
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