Album blows the mind with heavy metal sound

New York band Tombs is set to release their record Under Sullen Skies later this month, and each song has the metal rage fans want to hear. Mike Hill’s vocals are dominant on each track by how he shrieks, shouts and grumbles out the lyrics, the guitar playing from Hill, Drew Murphy and Matt Medeiros lights up the atmosphere with shredding notes that will cause listeners to headbang and the drumming by Justin Spaeth blazes each tune with heavy hitting sounds that contribute to the endless madness. Under Sullen Skies is filled with promising metal music that can fulfill the expectations of those who are willing to listen.

The opening song “Bone Furnace” is a great example of how strong Hill’s vocals are, and through this entire piece, Hill’s voice keeps the whole composition together by how he shouts and shrieks out the words with pure emotion. The most enjoyable part about Hill’s vocal performance is how he grumbles in rage, conveying the feeling of hatred he has for other people. “Bone Furnace” has amazing vocals, and Hill does a good job with displaying his talent on this track.

Dreary “Secrets Of The Black Sun” is a bit different from the other tracks because it is being played with a different tone. Instead of the band performing blaring music, the musical structure is more relaxed due to how the musicians are playing on a slower tempo. What is noticeably good about this composition is how well the band is playing harmonically, with each riff, voice and drum beat producing a harmonic sound that blends in with the dark themes on this piece. “Secrets Of The Black Sun”  is a beautiful tune that has a hard kicking dose of harmony that can be heard from the four musicians who are playing their hearts out.

Driven “Descensum” has catchy drum playing by Spaeth. The drum beats constantly modulate between faster and slower pacing through the whole composition. At the start of this tune, Spaeth’s drum beats are slow and steady until he starts to pick up the pace in the middle of the track. What is noticeably pleasing is how Spaeth keeps drumming the same energetic beat for two minutes, causing some listeners to dance like crazy while they are listening to the music. Altogether, “Descensum” is a fun song, but the drum playing from Spaeth makes this piece more enjoyable with how he creates havoc while smacking his drum heads.

Dark “We Move Like Phantoms” is another track that is different from the others because it is an instrumental piece that doesn’t need Hill’s strong vocals to help tell its story. Although the tune is short, the instrumentation speaks volumes by how each band member’s musical talent clashes into each other to create ear-bleeding metal music. Right off the bat, vein-shaking guitar playing by Murphy, Hill and Medeiros welcomes listeners to their world with thundering guitar riffs, and the drum playing by Spaeth shakes the atmosphere with drum beats that contribute to the dark theme on this piece. “We Move Like Phantoms” doesn’t need lyrics because Tombs’ instrumentation shows how dark the band’s world is through their musical performance.

Blasting “Mordum” has well-done guitar playing from Murphy, Hill and Medeiros. At the beginning of this song, the thunderous sounds of vibrating guitar notes can be heard emerging from the background. Murphy’s bass blares with hard hitting riffs, Hill’s guitar is just as wicked by how his riffs surge the piece with high quality noise and Medeiros’s guitar solo keeps the whole piece together. “Mordum” has wild guitar playing from all three guitarists who are not afraid to show people who they are as musicians. 

Under The Sullen Skies shows how powerful Tombs is as a band because the vocals, guitar and drum playing are authoritative with hardcore sound. Fans will appreciate the effort Tombs put into this record.