Cough / Windhand: Reflection of the Negative (2013)

Richmond: Rich with Doom

I decided to check out Reflection of the Negative because half of the split is from Cough. A couple years ago, I nearly gave Cough’s Ritual Abuse a perfect score, stating that the record takes Black Sabbath to its logical extreme.

And Cough does a perfectly serviceable job on their half of the split. It’s not nearly as good as their last full-length, but if you love it slow, heavy, and sludgy, you could do a hell of a lot worse. The big surprise, though, is the contribution from fellow Richmondites Windhand. Their half of the split does what Cough could and should have. In other words, it takes Black Sabbath to its logical extreme.


You could simply read my review of Ritual Abuse and get a pretty good picture of what this sounds like. Or, you could take Electric Wizard’s Black Masses and slow it down, and you’d get an even better picture. It’s heavy, slow, and so warm and fuzzy it’s like lying back on a bed of chinchillas. It’s stunning, but up to now I haven’t mentioned the fantastic vocals. They’re falsetto, but in style and melodic sense they’re closer to Frankie Valli on tranquilizers than to a King Diamond shriek.

I’m very much looking forward to what Windhand will do next, and I am far from discounting Cough’s future potential. Reflection of the Negative is a very good split.

The Verdict: 4 out of 5 stars