LIVE REVIEW: Tomb Mold @ The Exchange, Bristol

Summer has well and truly left Bristol tonight – that fine rain that doesn’t seem particularly heavy but manages to soak you through is swirling around the city, leaving everyone making their way to The Exchange for a bruising night of death metal more than a little damp. Still, with the end of the long days and heatwaves comes the knowledge that the gigs are going to arrive thick and fast, and in many ways the mini-jaunt across the country from TOMB MOLD in support of brilliant new album Planetary Clairvoyance is the beginning of this.

A late addition to the bill and bulking it out to four bands, Leeds outfit SLIMELORD are in town to open up tonight and when they get going they’re a solid enough outfit; their mix of death, doom and sludge is a potent combination and in Ryan Sheperson they have a truly excellent drummer, who pulverises his kit superbly. That said, for vast periods the rhythm section is lost in a substandard mix and with no breaks between songs – any gaps are filled with guitar rings – it’s hard to work out where one ends and the other starts, resulting in a set that feels all too long despite its half hour length. When things get more death metal orientated the potential is there, but for the most part SLIMELORD fail to rise out of the swamp their social media channels insist they originate from.

Rating: 6/10

For a band to come on tour in a supporting role and play their most recent album in full is somewhat of a novelty, but OF FEATHER AND BONE are doing just that, using their slot to charge through last year’s offering Bestial Hymns of Perversion and then throwing out whatever they can if there’s any time left over. Like SLIMELORD, there’s little in the way of stage banter, but unlike their stage companions it’s clear when they’e got to the end of a song. As a result, this is half an hour of blistering death metal that sees bassist Alvino Salcedo and guitarist Dave Grant trade vocals well through the likes of Resounding from the Depths and Mockery of the Ascension, whilst drummer Prestion Weippert causes much finger wagging in the audience during his blast beats. Whether this marks the end of the touring cycle for the Denver trio is anyone’s guess, but they’ve left a lasting impression.

Rating: 8/10

RITUAL NECROMANCY are late starting and this sets a precedence for what is to come over their set. Once more the drumming, this time from Kevin Schreutelkamp, is excellent and the band are able to stir a decent reaction out of what has been a rather dead audience across the evening thus far. However, said reaction only occurs in between songs and they don’t quite cause the same impact as OF FEATHER AND BONE before them. There are more sound problems, with Justin Friday‘s vocals dipping in and out constantly and their lack of movement onstage doesn’t help their cause either; they come across bored and disinterested. Consequently, by the time they finish with Consummating Crypts of Eternity, it’s more of a limp than a sprint to the line.

Rating: 6/10

With the evening heading towards as damp a finish as the outside world, thank goodness that TOMB MOLD are relishing their first ever European tour. As a continuity to the evening, plaudits once more to drummer Max Klebanoff, especially as he is the sole vocalist for the Canadian four piece as well; playing blast beats and delivering gutturals is no easy task. With no mic stands therefore onstage, the remaining three members – guitarists Derrick Vella and Payson Power and bassist Steve Musgrave – have the freedom to move about and actually provide a stage presence that has been lacking from all the other bands so far. Not that this is the sole reason for TOMB MOLD to have an edge over their counterparts; musically they’re on another level too, with Cerulean Salvation and Accelerative Phenomenae two of many highlights in a neck-snapping rampage that pummels The Exchange into total submission. The sound gremlins try to to disrupt once more, but they’re blown away impressively as even the guitar solos, significantly cleaner in tone against the distortion and blast beats, cut through the room with ease. Tonight, TOMB MOLD comprehensively destroy Bristol six ways to Sunday; not bad for their first ever show on these shores.

Rating: 9/10

Check out our photo gallery from the night’s action in Bristol from Normandy Photography here: