Album Review: Resin Tomb - Cerebral Purgatory
Reviewed by Sam Jones
Time to head down under with this newest release. Resin Tomb, formed in 2019, hailing from Queensland, Australia, are here ti release their first full length album: Cerebral Purgatory. It’s good to see the band slowly worked their way towards this moment for their first EP, unveiled in 2020, opened the door for further works including their 2022 Unconsecrated//Ascendency EP, before they began teasing Singles from their upcoming 2024 album. Now, preparing to unleash Cerebral Purgatory upon the metal masses for a January 19th date and following a signing onto Transcending Obscurity Records, it’s time to see what Resin Tomb are made of and what has garnered them such an illustrious record deal and signing.
If you thought Resin Tomb were going to let you just saunter into the new year unchallenged then you’ll be greatly surprised, as the band unfurl their arms and bludgeon you right out of the gate with a songwriting showcase that bolsters everything gnarly and coarse. It’s easy to see how fans have come towards Resin Tomb for their style is leagues away from the polished and refined complexions that we’ve seen in abundance lately; while the performance is concise and you can see where things may be leading to, the band have seen to it their soundscape is one that bleeds, as opposed to flows. It’s like the band bordered their record in barbed wire than merely walls alone. Everything may possess this chaotic nature, and the instrumentation may jut out with malicious speed from the trajectory you think the songwriting is going down, but the band still bind it all together so it doesn’t feel disconnected.
I think one element that really helps the band infuse this insanity to their sound is how the bass has been mixed in. You have the primary riffs going on, as heinous as you’d possibly want them to be in an extreme metal band, but by listening closely you can make out the thicker, unrestrained basslines that provide the album’s foundation. I especially enjoyed how the bass would work of its own accord, freeing itself from whatever the guitar work was doing. As a result, Resin Tomb offer a dual-guitar attack that audiences can tune into simultaneously; it’s easy to do too since the bass has been granted a loftier position in the mix too, the reverbs and chord changes the bass provides are easily audible and, while the riffs are pelting us with all their might, the bass is still capable of punching through that mire to reach us seemingly without difficulty.
A curious thing I realised was this record doesn’t stick to the beaten path of conventional song structure. At no point do Resin Tomb consent themselves to write by-the-books song structure, for their sound is forever moving from one end to another and, even then, there are elements being thrown at us in the middle to keep us engaged. It’s almost progressive to a point where you’ll have tracks that are completely free of any typical structure and it feels like the band are really experimenting with what this form of sludge/death metal can offer audiences. If the record were chained up, it still wouldn’t sit still nor would it appear in the same position should our backs suddenly turn on it. It harnesses this near-obsessive need to change and evolve like some abhorrence of nature. Yet, in spite of this manic desire to alter its form, the band still manage to bind their sound together as, if ever the band would lose us it would be during these segments, yet they never do and we’re thoroughly engaged at all times.
The vocals throughout this record never ease up, nor does their tone ever lighten up to give their vocalist a break. How his voice didn’t snap on itself during the recording process I’ll never know as it’s always in that zone where most vocalists would save their voice for the strongest and most visceral sections of their own performance. Here, however, that’s stretched to the entire runtime of Cerebral Purgatory. One saving grace though is there are numerous segments where the vocals do drop away and the instrumentation is given the necessary lead on the band’s performance; had the vocals been an uninterrupted force their vocalist could risk wearing his cords out. In addition, some of his performed syllables are sustained notes, giving him time to get his breath back between stanzas of lyrics and ensuring he isn’t waning due to an unending volley of lyrical deliveries.
In conclusion, Resin Tomb’s first full length release is an uncompromising gut punch that is bound to leave fans new and old alike sprawled on the floor. I will say this isn’t my usual album to listen to but did enjoy what I found. The band’s willingness not to fall into conventional track structure is a bold one as it greatly complements their unrestrained style of songwriting wherein their riffs and bass work is officially bursting from the cover art. If you’re after something that’s certainly along the lines of modern extreme metal and is unafraid to showcase its more visceral and razor-sharp side then Resin Tomb might be a band worth checking out come January 19th. The new year is already stacked with releases by firmly established bands, so it’s endearing to see a new act come out of the woodwork so strongly.
