SKELETAL SPECTRE

Tomb Coven

Razorback
rating icon 8 / 10

Track listing:

01. The Decapitress
02. Amulet of Impurity
03. Wrath of Corrupta
04. Burial Ground
05. Cursed Ancestry
06. Tomb Coven
07. Eerie Bones


The thing about "Tomb Coven" from SKELETAL SPECTRE is that had it been released on one of the "bigger" or less cult/underground metal labels it would no doubt have been played up as one of the year's premiere doom/death metal releases, complete with associated propaganda about those "old-school" qualities that have become such a hot selling point this last year or two. As the album has been released on Razorback Records — in underground metal circles, a known deliverer of consistently quality releases– you have not seen banner ads plastered across major metal sites or full-page magazine ads, which is why it is of the utmost importance that the message be sent via Blabbermouth review. In other words, you really need to check out this wholly entertaining and exceedingly heavy doom/death debut from the Swedish trio.

"Tomb Coven" is 29 minutes of doomy death metal, more accurately described as groove-based, mid-tempo (with a couple of up-tempo exceptions) DM based on a HELLHAMMER/CELTIC FROST-meets-ASPHYX approach. Included is a vocal treatment from bassist Behold the Pentagram - "the" and "Pentagram" apparently his given middle and last names, respectively – that is straight out of the Tom G. Warrior school of gurgling and is done so in a way that is deferential without embarrassingly blatant mimicry. The riffing on every track is not only delightfully bloated with sickening crunch, but also written for maximum attention-grabbing impact. More impressive from a songwriting point of view is that in addition to a consistent emphasis on memorable structuring and choruses throughout ("Eerie Bones" one such example) is that songs like the title track, which has a certain swing to it, and especially the speedy "Amulet of Impurity", are downright catchy. To achieve such results without any degree of prettiness or interference with the oh-so-important churning ugliness of it all is no small feat. The band takes full advantage of its sizeable riff repertoire and has a knack for making the little things notable; the chilling organ section in the middle of "The Decapitress" a prime example.

"Tomb Coven" will probably end up a highly appreciated example of doom/death done right by those "in the know" (i.e. the Razorback legions),yet one that will not get near the attention it deserves. Now that you have been made aware of the presence of said album, you've got no excuse for overlooking it or failing to spread the word.

Author:
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).