Tombs has paired “Secrets of the Black Sun” with a new computer-animated music video made by Aimed & Fraimed. It’s an album cut from their latest album Under Sullen Skies, which came out on November 20, 2020 via Season of Mist.
“Secrets of the Black Sun” is a sprawling track that builds off frontman Mike Hill’s echoing vocals into an atmospheric sludge metal climax. Under Sullen Skies found Hill with a new cast of bandmates from New Jersey groups Hammer Fight and Kalopsia. Accompanying Hill’s calls of lyrics like “Shadows of despair/Cling to this mortal form/Led into the void/Secrets of the black sun,” the song features haunting backing vocals from bassist Drew Murphy, somewhat tribal drums from Justin Spaeth and cinematic guitarwork from Matt Medeiros.
Stormy imagery and shots of a black sun eclipsing a brighter star are used to visualize the song. The video begins and ends with flashes of lightning cutting through a dark sky in time to the drums, pulls the viewer into the spinning eye of a tornado and turns bright red for its cosmic climax.
Tombs previously released a music video for “The Hunter” that combined live footage with clips from horror movies. “The Hunter” was the last of the singles off Under Sullen Skies. More recently, Murphy shared a gear rundown video on his large bass collection.
The band formed in 2007 as an outfit for Hill and an evolving ensemble of backing musicians. Tombs has put out five studio albums and a handful of EPs. They’ve also established a respectable presence as a touring act and were supposed to go on tour with Napalm Death, Aborted and The Locust before COVID-19 shut things down.