ALBUM REVIEW: Feral Darkness – Tombs

TOMBS have been creating music that is both forward thinking and savagely apocalyptic for the past decade and a half, and show no signs of letting up at all. The band’s blending of ferocious but subtle black metal, truly bleak post-punk minimalism with post-metal, sludge and goth rock flavourings have always been both intense and immense and that shows absolutely no signs of changing any time soon.

Enter Feral Darkness, their sixth full length and one that sees TOMBS on typically intense form as they remind us of their formidable outlook on the unsuspecting world, only this time that bleak outlook is amped up considerably and bolstered by extreme soundscapes that are desolate but also have a razor sharp focus to them.

That apocalyptic vibe that TOMBS have perfected comes into the fray from the very first notes of Glass Eyes/Ghoul, the opening track of Feral Darkness, which sounds very much like the end of the world, and what follows over the following nine tracks, very much sums up the state of the impending doom that the world faces as it is unrelentingly bleak throughout, and the results are simply crushing.

Amongst the savagery, there are moments of respite from the apocalyptic nature of this album, like the superbly atmospheric The Sun Sets, a track that adds levels of gothic grandeur to proceedings, the section towards the end of Last Days which adds a brilliant macabre feeling of dread akin to a funeral march, and this leads to a pummelling conclusion, and the savage and haunting The Wintering. These tracks only add to the heaviness and show the eclectic nature of TOMBS.

The vibe that prevails through Feral Darkness like a dark cloud is certainly in sync with its title, and tracks like the vicious Black Shapes and Wasps embody this to the fullest. The album feels like an all-encompassing trip into the heart of darkness that engulfs so much pain and hurt, but does so in the most magnificently cathartic way.

As final track Glaeken draws its final breath, the stakes have been raised in terms of sheer finality, and TOMBS have laid waste to all in their path, looking around at the desolation left in their wake. This is music as an experience and it is definitely one that is on the more intense side, and even seems to amp up what TOMBS have done in the past but ass even more layers of sound and attitude, this time around, and it has to be said that the band sound even better for this.

Feral Darkness is a much needed album for these times, truly soul crushing throughout and with a feeling of bleakness prevailing over all, that just adds to the intense atmosphere. TOMBS are a band who are constantly evolving their concept of heaviness, and they have definitely outdone themselves on this record, an album that goes straight for the jugular and doesn’t relent at all.

Rating: 8/10

Feral Darkness is out now via Redefining Darkness.

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