T.O.M.B – UAG – Album Review

Sometimes metal is transcendent – bringing you to a different place, maybe even to a different state of mind. When it accomplishes this task, there has to be something real that moves you to that new direction. Recently, I was fortunate enough to listen to T.O.M.B.’s masterpiece of necrotic goodness – Uncovered Ancient Gateways (UAG). Of the bands that are drawn to this world of industrial darkness and percussive black blasts of doom, T.O.M.B. embodies its craft – wholly.

They don’t create a mere studio illusion – they actually bring the music to life (or death) ON SITE. You want real? This album was recorded in graveyards throughout Pennsylvania and mastered at Satan’s Palace Recording Studio in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Nuff said.

The track ‘Blood Vortex’ has an almost swirling, pulsing sound that envelopes the listener. Electricity crackles through in spots. The fact that this song was produced using real blood brings the imagery to a whole new level. It’s like I’m bound to a chair in John Carpenter’s classic The Thing, waiting for them to test my blood to see if I am a clone.

My favorite part of instrumental/industrial/black/evil music is the freedom it provides. No words mean I can make up my own narrative. It’s seems personal. T.O.M.B. is one of the few collectives, of this genre, where each song is unique. Their songs don’t all bleed together into an abyss; they are of reasonable, digestible length.

The mastermind behind T.O.M.B. (which stands for Total Occultic Mechanical Blasphemy) is Jack Gannon. No stranger to great metal, Jack spent time in Goreaphobia and Deteriorate. With T.O.M.B., it is clear he can push boundaries with soundscapes and locations that would be difficult to do in a traditional band. The absolutely brilliant track ‘Cadaver Transmissions’ was made in part by using an actual CADAVER! The scraping, chilling sounds bring a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘skin in the game’ – again proving T.O.M.B. is all in when it comes to authenticity!

This is expansive, challenging, frightening music that must be experienced. I thank the Dark Lords for bands like T.O.M.B.

Track Listing

1. Uncovered Ancient Gateways (04:23)
2. Torment (03:03)
3. Mausoleum Witchcraft (08:28)
4. Serpent Moon Seance (04:42)
5. Blood Vortex (07:32)
6. Tribe Of The Corpse (03:53)
7. Graveyard Requiem (03:52)
8. Empleh (12:16)
9. Leech (04:14)
10. Cadaver Transmissions (03:38)
11. Perverse Crematory Pleasures (06:44)