With their debut album Nullpunkt, Coldspine crafts a potent exploration of doom and sludge metal across nine tracks that span forty-six minutes. The record is more than a showcase of heaviness. It’s a dynamic journey through intricate textures and subgenre experimentation, firmly establishing Coldspine’s place within the metal scene.
The album opens with “Torture Rack,” a sludgy, mid-tempo behemoth that sets the tone with its crushing rhythms and unrelenting weight. Tracks like “Among Serpents” and “Misery Routine” inject more energy through intricate riffs and faster tempos that shift the mood while maintaining the band’s signature heaviness.
“Regression” and “Absent” introduce clean guitar sections that weave atmospheric elements into the abrasive core of the record. These moments of calm act as counterpoints to the unyielding ferocity, allowing Coldspine to explore contrasts without sacrificing intensity. Meanwhile, “Minus” clocks in as one of the shorter pieces by delivering dissonant riffs and noise elements that add tension and discomfort and reinforces the album’s emotional weight.
On “To The Ground,” the band leans into their doom roots with a sprawling track that showcases their ability to blend oppressive heaviness with measured pacing. “Odd” carries a sludgy groove with its headbang-worthy rhythm.
The title track, “Nullpunkt,” concludes the journey with an epic, 8-minute-plus exploration of doom-laden atmospheres. It captures the album’s themes of despair and resilience and is bolstered by haunting vocals delivered in both English and German, which deepen the record’s stark, foreboding character.
With Nullpunkt, Coldspine delivers a heavy yet nuanced debut, solidifying themselves as a formidable force in doom and sludge metal.
Album artwork by Lisa Schroeder
