Close and devoted readers to Heavy Blog probably know one thing: I am not the biggest death metal fan. I don’t hate it! Far from it. But given the option between a generic death metal band and a generic doom metal band, I’m going doom every time. Doom just jives with me in a way that death metal typically doesn’t. That’s all to say that if I’m recommending a death metal band to you, it’s probably really freakin’ great. With that, may I introduce the brilliant Tombstoner.
As soon as I pressed play, I couldn’t help but think of Gojira. The fast and intricate riffing is immediately reminiscent of the French quartet. But at the same time, the band isn’t quite as interested in riffing for the sake of it and prefers to make their music move along instead of seeming contemplative on any one section of their music. No song dwells too long on any one section or part, instead choosing to carry on with the subtlety of a speeding runaway train. It’s just blatantly fun to listen to. The band makes no apologies for that, and I wouldn’t accept one even if they did.
Every year, there’s some discussion about the “Song of the Summer”. Listening to Tombstoner reminds me of that idea. Hard to have a song of the summer in 2020 for very obvious reasons, but I would submit that Descent to Madness is my album of the summer. No, it’s not a light, poppy record full of melodic hooks and catchy lyrics, but this does fill that role to me. Because what do you look for in your summer music? You want something big. You want sensory overload. You want a raving good time! That’s what Descent to Madness is: an outrageously good time designed to just wear out your senses while you rock your ass off. You couldn’t ask for anything more!