Album Review: Tomb Mold - The Enduring Spirit
Reviewed by Daniel Phipps
When you release three albums in three years you are probably due some time off from releasing your next record. Tomb Mold did exactly that and 4 years have gone and the band are set to release The Enduring Spirit in October.
Normally I would not use relaxing to describe a death metal record, but when you really delve into The Enduring Spirit the composition of the riffs at points is an extremely interesting and relaxing listening experience. Tomb Mold creates a really great mix of slick technical playing which then melts into a fury of death metal power. Another big plus on the guitar playing side of things on this record is how killer some of the hooks are. Now I'm not going to lie, I enjoy all furious death metal about as much as possible, but when you hear a death metal act create real solid hooks like Tomb Mold such as a track like "Will of Whispers" has not only with it's rhythm but also lead playing it's really an enjoyable listening experience.
The natural sound of the drums is also a huge win on this record. They sound clean with an extremely nice punch which doesn't distract from the guitars and most importantly doesn't sound over produced. Now it's not all hooks and widdly guitar work at appropriate times Tomb Mold definitely provide some good old fashioned fury where the hooks take a back seat and raw power takes the centre stage with tracks like "Flesh as Armour" being the best example on the record.
If you want a super slick sounding death metal record then you really have got the jackpot with The Enduring Spirit. It's an extremely catchy set of tracks which has a solid balance between the technical songwriting aspects of death metal and the power and groove, it might take a couple of listens to take everything in which you are being presented with and if that is the case just stick with it, it will be worth it.
