Tombs: Path of Totality

Can black metal be beautiful?  On their third CD, New York’s Tombs proves it certainly can.  Upon first listen, it appears to be an oppressive heaviness with no room to breathe.  But peel away the layers of noise, blastbeats, and guttural vocals…you’ll find an emotional core, a beating heart that found its natural home among the cacophony. 

Real sentiment joins the whirlwind of guitars, tribal drums, and synthesizers….and the result is nothing short of transcendent.   This is  a towering monolith of postpunk beauty.  If Ian Curtis crawled back from the hereafter and formed a metal band, this would be it.  Astounding from the first note until the last.

About the author: Michael Franklin is the Media & Reserves Specialist at WKU Library’s Visual & Performing Arts Library. Michael is also a professional musician and sound engineer.