By Theron Moore
Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 22/04/2016
Label: Svart Records
Tombstoned works. It’s unlike
anything I’ve heard in a while but it’s catchy and it’ll stick in your
head. It’s doom but a different kind of
doom I’m used to listening to. Give it a
listen, I think you’ll enjoy it.
“II” CD//DD//LP track listing:
1.
Pretending to Live
2. Brainwashed Since Birth
3. Time Travels
4. And I Told You
5. Haven’t We Seen All This Before
6. You Can Always Close Your Eyes
7. Remedies
2. Brainwashed Since Birth
3. Time Travels
4. And I Told You
5. Haven’t We Seen All This Before
6. You Can Always Close Your Eyes
7. Remedies
The Review:
I’ll be honest with you. I had to listen to this record several times
to really get the feel for this band.
Musically I like what they’re delivering. But the vocals I couldn’t figure out. As strange as it may seem I heard influences
like The
Cure as well as Trouble, Candlemass and Cirith Ungol coming
through. I couldn’t figure out if I
liked the vox on this record or not but they finally grew on me. I think Tombstoned is best described as early 80’s
straight doom, straight fuzz.
“Brainwashed
Since Birth” should’ve been the record’s opening track but
I’m not complaining, I dug the vibe of “Pretending
to Live” which sounds like a fusion between 80’s era Cure and the band Trouble. Weird, right?
But it works.
Tombstoned aren’t heavy in the same vein as Holy Serpent,
or Sleep
or Cathedral
but more in line with, say, Trouble meets The Cure meets Candlemass. Clear as mud?
But it works. “Time Travels,” track three, picks up
where “Brainwashed Since Birth” left
off and continues this journey of cosmic strangeness. Track four, “And I Told You,” is a cool little gem of heavy Cirith Ungol inspired madness.
That’s where the aforementioned early 80’s doom inspiration was kinda
apparent.
One of the best songs on this record is “Haven’t We Seen All This Before” that
features, of all things, a Smashing Pumpkins inspired guitar groove
combined with a traditional Trouble inspired doom breakdown. But, damn if it doesn’t jam. Look, without going into the rest of the
songs I can tell you this. Tombstoned
works. It’s unlike anything I’ve heard
in a while but it’s catchy and it’ll stick in your head. It’s doom but a different kind of doom I’m
used to listening to. Give it a listen,
I think you’ll enjoy it.
