SKELETAL SPECTRE

The thing about "Tomb Coven" from SKELETAL SPECTRE is that had it been released on one of the "bigger" or less cult/underground metal labels it would no doubt have been played up as one of the year's premiere doom/death metal releases, complete with associated propaganda about those "old-school" qualities that have become such a hot selling point this last year or two. As the album has been released on Razorback Records — in underground metal circles, a known deliverer of consistently quality releases– you have not seen banner ads plastered across major metal sites or full-page magazine ads, which is why it is of the utmost importance that the message be sent via Blabbermouth review. In other words, you really need to check out this wholly entertaining and exceedingly heavy doom/death debut from the Swedish trio.

"Tomb Coven" is 29 minutes of doomy death metal, more accurately described as groove-based, mid-tempo (with a couple of up-tempo exceptions) DM based on a HELLHAMMER/CELTIC FROST-meets-ASPHYX approach. Included is a vocal treatment from bassist Behold the Pentagram - "the" and "Pentagram" apparently his given middle and last names, respectively – that is straight out of the Tom G. Warrior school of gurgling and is done so in a way that is deferential without embarrassingly blatant mimicry. The riffing on every track is not only delightfully bloated with sickening crunch, but also written for maximum attention-grabbing impact. More impressive from a songwriting point of view is that in addition to a consistent emphasis on memorable structuring and choruses throughout ("Eerie Bones" one such example) is that songs like the title track, which has a certain swing to it, and especially the speedy "Amulet of Impurity", are downright catchy. To achieve such results without any degree of prettiness or interference with the oh-so-important churning ugliness of it all is no small feat. The band takes full advantage of its sizeable riff repertoire and has a knack for making the little things notable; the chilling organ section in the middle of "The Decapitress" a prime example.

"Tomb Coven" will probably end up a highly appreciated example of doom/death done right by those "in the know" (i.e. the Razorback legions),yet one that will not get near the attention it deserves. Now that you have been made aware of the presence of said album, you've got no excuse for overlooking it or failing to spread the word.