lista zespołów Brutal Death Tombthroat Eden Apocalypse

Why did I want to bother reviewing Tombthroat’s Eden Apocalypse in the first place would probably surprise people that know me a little bit. I usually don’t appreciate that much brutal “full blast” bands when it comes to Death Metal. But the Grindcore roots of the band and the raving comments regarding their latest offering convinced me that I should go for it.

Founded in Germany in 1996, Tombthroat started as your regular Grind/Death band and the first two albums were actually nothing close to the style they now play. Blood Red History, their third record from 2007, showed the band incorporating more and more Death Metal elements but was actually quite a weak album and it’s probably no surprise if you didn’t hear about this band’s existence until now. Five years later, here’s Eden Apocalypse, a great slab of Brutal Death Metal which will eventually put Tombthroat on the Death Metal map for good.

With their latest album, Tombthroat really mutated in an altogether beast. Long forgotten are the mediocre songwriting and poor production of the previous recordings. Eden Apocalypse is a killer from start to finish, a real war machine built to terminate each and everyone. From the crazy intense drumming to infernal and brutal riffs, the music is witness to various influences, be it Deranged or the New York scene. It’s brutal but it’s not brainless, and the added groove, compared to other BDM bands, is probably a (good) remnant of their grinding past as well as the few samples that can be found here and there. Which is also true of the singer’s vocals, which, even though he doesn’t have such a wide range, deliver ultra fast Grindcore style and perfectly fit this atomic groove of theirs. There are also a few slamming parts but nothing too invasive if you’re not into that kind of Death Metal.

People from the Death Metal scene probably saw this transformation coming a long way since this earned Tombthroat two nice guests featured in two different areas. First, the splendid artwork was done by Marco Hasmann, of Blasphemer fame. At last but not least, Vital Remains’ Dave Suzuki is featured as a guest guitarist and delivers crushing soli.

All in all, Eden Apocalypse got to be one of the most appreciated Death Metal records in 2012 proving that there is always room for progression no matter what the band. Most Death Metal bands usually release a great debut they cannot then surpass, Tombthroat went the other way and delivered their own “milestone” after 16 years of existence. It certainly was worth the wait.

PS: Many thanks to Romu for the help! It is most appreciated.