COLISEUM
No Salvation
(Relapse)

TERHEN
Eyes Unfolded
(Firebox)

OXBOW
The Narcotic Story
(Hydra Head)

THESE ARE:
Scare Tactics
(Hold True)

TOMAHAWK
Anonymous
(Ipecac)

CAPITAL
Homefront 

(Revelation)

GET BACK UP
Weathering the Storm

(Organized Crime)

MORE REVIEWS

It used to be the case that the human voice was used to transmit deep emotion through the alteration of tonalities, the exaggeration of syllables and the obsessive use of comedic falsettos. At some point down the line, extreme music makers went the other way, started crafting this sort of affecting post hardcore metal and put the music as the main conveyor of emotion and the voice as an accent, a sort of highway road to exaggerated violence. The opening track from Tombs’ debut recording “Fountain of the World 666” is just that; heavy by chance the song bounces among ebullient rising notes then falls with cascading psychedelic guitars and trudging basslines. On top, guitarist vocalist Mike Hill tears his throat with hellbent intentions.

For those in the know, Hill has the underground experience with Versoma and the excellent Anodyne. Joining him on Tombs are drummer Justin Ennis (The Heuristic) and bassist Dominic Seita (Speedloader). I am not familiar with the last two bands, but I can tell you this about Tombs; it is a very potent hybrid of post rock with noise, psychedelic layers of ethereal sounds, and post hardcore attitude.  “Course of Empire” wails so loud it had me looking behind me just to make sure there weren’t any elephants stampeding my way. “Calvaire” is in a way more straight forward. These are the sounds of string instruments converging at a point in disagreement; the bass hangs way low while the guitars are heavy yet effervescent. If one gets Converge into their heads then they should open them up a little bit, Tombs is a far more reaching and forward looking unit, by no means afraid to step into less trodden paths. This is highly promising. And we couldn’t expect less considering Mike Hill is doing time here.

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