Greytomb - Monumental Microcosm

#FOR FANS OF: Black/Doom

Black metal is not meant to be friendly and tame, as it demands to be wild and unpredictable. And that is what we totally get with this 2017 EP called 'Monumental Microcosm' from Australia's atmospheric black metal band Greytomb. The EP has those characteristics that fans of the black metal genre are looking for, but the thing is, even with all the evident strong BM traits that attract a wide number of fans in the extreme metal realm, it still lacks that impact that can separate it from the crowd of atmospheric black metal bands coming out these days.

The first listen I have with this EP, I already got the idea that this is gonna be one of those records where I am going to get caught in either loving it or hating it, so I gave the record a couple more spins to really get into their music. And after giving it a few more listen, I came to a conclusion that even with the number of positive elements found in this EP, it still is another garden variety record in the field of black metal music. What I do love about 'Monumental Microcosm' is its blasting drum section that it is close to the style of grindcore and that it is atmospheric yet it did not need the assistance of any keyboard to conjure the dense nihilistic undercurrent.

On the guitar section, the listeners are bound to adore the sheer heaviness of the doom riffs present here. These doomy guitar features will take you to a clandestine and cold place which is really satisfying for BM fans. This record is also loaded with stormy tremolo picking which gives each of the songs a more of a raw feeling and vibe into them. The guitar department also is surprisingly melodic even with that raw approach. Its melodies are very grim and menacing that it will evoke and stimulate the listeners with a feeling of going around in circles in a metaphysical sphere and otherworldly domain. These fervent yet melodic riffs are enthralling and it adds as a pleasing component to the competent side of the EP, but then again we can almost hear this in most records released under this genre.

The bass here is also in some measure audible and it certainly aids in generating that cloudy and profound atmosphere in the album, though it does nothing out of the ordinary. And yes, it does its job to beef up the whole resonance and it never really breaks out of the matrix. We now go to the pummeling and rapid-fire drumming that is one of the things that will attract attention to the audiences in the EP. It's insanely fast and the amount of blast beats found in here intelligibly brings a reminiscence of Greytomb's mastery in its former musical domain as Subterranean Drilling Machine.

Dysmorphic and obscure vocal delivery are what we would find when we talk about the vocal section in this album, with a variety of vocal techniques extending from low hair-splitting snarls to high pitched shrieks. This scornful vocal performance leaves an impression on some listeners, especially to those who are first timers in the black metal genre, but after a couple of spins, it will sound just like the platitude of vocal performances that we hear from the crowds of atmospheric black metal acts these days.

With all that said, Greytomb was able to deliver a capable and competent material with the release of their 2017 EP 'Monumental Microcosm'. However, even with some good and convincing factors present in the offering, the band wasn't able to turn the wheel and separate their music from the mundane horde of atmospheric black metal groups swarming both the underground and mainstream extreme music scene today. Yes, this album is good and at some point satisfying to the ears, but there is really nothing special and great about it. Maybe in future releases, Greytomb will finally get the ingredients right. (Felix Sale)

(Transcending Obscurity Records - 2017)
Score: 60

https://greytomb.bandcamp.com/releases

Greytomb - A Perpetual Descent

#PER CHI AMA: Post Black, Deafheaven, Altar of Plagues 

La scena estrema internazionale ribolle e non poco: Francia, U.S. e Germania sembrano essere le nazioni in cui in un modo o nell'altro, ci sia un maggiore interesse verso gli estremismi sonori cosi come una certa freschezza a livello di idee. Non trascuriamo però l'Australia, da sempre paese portatore di suoni originali, ricercati e assai decadenti. Fatta questa semplice premessa, ecco che presentarvi questi cinque cavalieri dell'apocalisse sarà compito meno arduo per il sottoscritto. I Greytomb sono un ensemble di base a Melbourne che si presenta con questo malsano quanto intrigante biglietto da visita, 'A Perpetual Descent'. Quattro tracce e 40 minuti a disposizione per conquistarci con il loro post black nevrotico, che si dimena tra bordate di scuola Deafheaven e spaventosi rallentamenti, sin dall'apertura affidata a "The River of Nihil", song che richiama peraltro una band italiana che francamente adoro, i Nihil Locus, a causa di un modo decisamente disperato di proporre le loro vocals. Poi le influenze si spingono anche ai francesi Deathspell Omega per quell'utilizzo di inquietanti atmosfere costruite da chitarre dissonanti. Insomma, le referenze dei nostri non sono mica male e se a queste aggiungete anche un che degli Altar of Plagues, capirete anche voi, che i Greytomb non sono certo degli sprovveduti, ma un gruppo da seguire con sommo interesse. Incredibili le emozioni malefiche sprigionate dal finale della opening track che ci traghettano poi ai 16 minuti di "Urban Moulder", in cui la vena black doom degli Austere prende il sopravvento nel sound del 5-piece dello stato di Victoria. Il ritmo si fa più lento e cadenzato, quasi al limite del funeral, con lo screaming acuminato di -O- (qui anche in versione parlata) a cantare di nichilismo, metafisica ed inesistenza in un sound ammorbante, a tratti asfissiante ma che sa anche essere onirico nelle sue splendide aperture ambient che dischiudono la vena più malinconica per la band australiana. Un intermezzo noise che sembra evocare le urla dei dannati all'inferno e la mortifera violenza black divampa nella conclusiva "Boundless Introspection", in cui le vocals scomodano addirittura lo spettro di Attila Csihar ai tempi di 'De Mysteriis dom Sathanas', per un finale davvero da brividi. Che altro dire se non che 'A Perpetual Descent' è lavoro assai interessante e che i Greytomb sono una new sensation da tenere assolutamente nei vostri radar. Insani. (Francesco Scarci)

(Self - 2016)

Voto: 75

https://greytomb.bandcamp.com/album/a-perpetual-descent