Artist: Tomb Mold
Country: Canada
Label: 20 Buck Spin
Formats: LP / Cassette tape / CD
Year: 2023
Although Tomb Mold might not have been the most typical down-tuned Death Metal band from the pack, the band’s rather stationary start with both 2016 demo tapes, ‘The Bottomless Perdition’ and ‘The Moulting’, seems like a century ago. Over the years since their inception, only eight years ago, the band has been developing and reinventing themselves so many times that listening to ‘The Enduring Spirit’ really feels like a completely new band. This new album, again through 20 Buck Spin, marks yet another milestone for the Canadians, one that definitely puts them on the unorthodox Death Metal map.
The simple story would be to state that Tomb Mold just continues where they left off with their previous album, 2019’s ‘Planetary Clairvoyance’. That would certainly not do the band any injustice, in fact, that statement certainly covers it, however, it is true that on ‘The Enduring Spirit’ the band is pulling out all the stops and further stretching the limits of their musical talents. While the band is still offering a thoroughly dark and heavy Death Metal affair with lots of meaty, chugging riffs and roaring vocals it also treats you to a full-fledged adventurous ride through different musical styles and past daring musical wizardry.
‘The Enduring Spirit’ does not only sound like a wild river of fearless musical ideas, it really lives up to its daring title. None of the rhythms will last for a very long time, none of the patterns will repeat endlessly. No, Tomb Mold got even further away from the standard “riff A, riff B, chorus, riff A”-kind of song writing. In a song like ‘Will Of Whispers’ and the amazing album closer ‘The Enduring Spirit Of Calamity’ we are treated on otherworldly Fusion-like Pink Floydian beauty. Now that Tomb Mold has reached its fourth album, it is a safe conclusion that the band has taken a similar path of a band like Atheist: both were never really standard Death Metal bands to begin with, but allowed themselves to enrich their musical palette along the way. The jazzy rhythms, the ever-changing riffs and snappy leads shows that Tomb Mold fully makes use of that palette and allows them to paint a breathtaking piece of Death Metal art.
Just like ‘Planetary Clairvoyance’ pushed the band into new territories compared to their already above-average take-off, ‘The Enduring Spirit’ again takes Tomb Mold a step further into the realms of unconventional Death Metal. Without really sounding exactly the same, Tomb Mold clearly has a different starting point, there are some obvious resemblances with bands like Atheist or Cynic and with this great fourth album they established themselves along contemporary genre greats such as StarGazer and VoidCeremony.
