Style: experimental death metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Nile, Blood Incantation, Cynic
Review by: Andy
Country: United States-CO
Release date: 7 July 2023
Make death metal weird again. Cynic and Atheist had it right three decades ago, but the recent infatuation with OSDM is making me want to DSBM–depressive suicid(e myself and listen to only) black metal. The stupid riffs in your average death metal release in 2023 would make a caveman happy, but I am a prog man of distinguished taste. Astral Tomb try to keep a foot in both camps, writing putrid old school death metal injected with a cosmic existentialism and experimental flourish.
Soulgazer, Astral Tomb’s debut, melded verifiably brutal death metal (our in-house death metal expert Zach verified it for me) cut with a strange new age ambience. Combined, these disparate influences made Soulgazer a contender for weirdo death metal album of the year. Total Spiritual Death, on the other hand, does not succeed quite so well with its experiments nor death metal–which include warped electronica, clean vocals, and a hidden track ending.
The death metal at its best takes on a life similar to Stargazer with strange bass licks and twisted riffery. “Cathedral” lurches forward at a staggered crawl before a drum fill that segues to a faster pace, and vocalist and guitarist Michael Schrock changes his screams from snarls to growls and yells to fit whichever direction the song goes. The next track, “All Black ‘Vette,” switches between electronica and a stumbling guitar line when suddenly female cleans make an unexpected–but not unappreciated–appearance; in fact, Elle Reynold’s parts differentiate this album from similar cosmic death metal acts like Blood Incantation more than anything else Astral Tomb do.
However, the remainder of “All Black ‘Vette” makes me feel like the writing is almost for a demo. The solo drum track as a transition doesn’t sound fully fleshed out, and in several other tracks, I think that while interesting ideas are present, they’re hardly applied to maximize the talent of the band in a full song capacity. Often, the ideas Astral Tomb implements–especially their use of electronica–feels a bit random, almost as if to superficially sound experimental. These bass-heavy throbs certainly are not the fascinating little bits of new age that adorned Soulgazer.
The one song that feels fully fleshed out is the epic “Funeral of Self”: Zach Johnson unleashes blast beats before the guitars can even orient themselves, shifting about as if they can’t figure out up from down. When they do decide, it’s a pummeling, pointed attack–although the bass gets lost in the mix at this point for some reason. The saving grace of the song takes the form of the extended percussion-based crescendo. For several minutes, a guitar’s drone becomes the floor for drum fill after crazy drum fill. The final ascent back into death metal paid off, the band utilizing the climax perfectly. The whammy bar and huge dive in the final minutes also are some clear songwriting and performative wins for Astral Tomb.
Much like Moral Collapse a few weeks ago, Astral Tomb clearly have an immense talent for death metal but falter in the parts necessary to make it convincing on an experimental front. With more focus on the songwriting flow, Total Spiritual Death 2.0 could be amazing, but as it stands, Total Spiritual Death is an unwieldy experiment that will lurk in the shadows of contemporaries like their local scene’s Blood Incantation.
Recommended tracks: Cathedral, Soulgaze
You may also like: Lunar Chamber, StarGazer, VoidCeremony, Moral Collapse, Qrixkuor, Cryptic Shift
Final verdict: 5/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives Page
Label: Blood Harvest – Bandcamp | Facebook | Official Website
Astral Tomb is:
– Michael Schrock (vocals, guitars)
– Zach Johsnon (drums)
– Adrian McClair (guitars)
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