You think you’d know what to expect from a Tomb Mold guest list; the band delivered one of the nastiest and most aggressive releases of 2018 when they released Manor of Infinite Forms. Thus, you’d expect to see plenty of heavy music, blending death metal, filth, and speed as the album itself does. And, to an extent, you’d be correct; that is, if you looked just at the main list which the band submitted to us. It includes blog favorites like Horrendous and Of Feather and Bone and lesser known gems like Cerebral Rot and Ghastly.
But then you might take a closer look at the “further listening” section, which includes more picks from each member of the band, and you’d find something a bit more complex and intriguing. There are still some admittedly heavy picks in there, like Frozen Graves or Portal, but you’ll also find an abundance of indie-pop, alternative, drone, and even country/folk. The musical palette displayed is varied and subtle, containing works of music which circle ideas presented in Tomb Mold’s own work around melancholy, disgust, defeat, and depression.
Which, at the end of the day, shouldn’t surprise us too much when we think about it. Tomb Mold makes music which, beneath the roiling surface, is inherently multi-faceted and complex. It makes sense then that, as a unit, their taste leans sharply into the aggressive and the oppressive but that, when you look at the parts which boil underneath, gives way to a wider range of experimentation. Read on below to see this unfolding for yourself and make sure you click through and listen; there are plenty of great albums in this list.
What a year for records! We’re excited to share some of our favorite releases both as a band and individually. Our collective best of 2018 is a nice sum up of the releases we would talk about every week at practice or in our group chat. Some of these bands we’ve even had the pleasure of playing with, and some we will play with in the future. We’re constantly inspired by our peers when we watch them excel, so here’s some of our picks:
Mortuous – Through Wilderness
Horrendous – Idol
Of Feather and Bone – Bestial Hymns of Perversion
Superstition – Surging Throng of Evil’s Might
Cerebral Rot – Cessation of Life
Mournful Congregation – The Incubus of Karma
Ghastly – Death Velour
Outer Heaven – Realms of Eternal Decay
Extra picks from each member:
Max Klebanoff (Drums, Vocals)
Cirrhus – Unimpeachable Madness
Worth – Neanderthal Camera
">Kali Malone – ">Cast of Mind
Payson Power (Guitars)
Steve Musgrave (Bass)
Snail Mail – Lush