There’s a lot churning about in the cement mixer that is Resin Tomb‘s music; that they make any sense at all of the constant battering and howling comes as a surprise, but it’s also a testament to just how good these blokes are when it comes to marshalling the (clearly very disturbing) thoughts barrelling around their collective musical brain.
The black, throbbing heart of their sound lies in the super-heavy basswork of Mitch Long, whose presence bestrides the album like an ebon colossus, giving form and structure over which the scything axes of Brendan Auld and Matt Gordon make pass after lethal pass, laying waste to anything in their path. Whilst all this is going on, Perry Vedelago pounds away at the back like an industrial jackhammer, and Matt Budge scalds the ears at the front, laying on the agony with flamethrower precision. At times it really does feel like you are risking your own safety (or at least sanity) standing anywhere near the speakers…
That said, Resin Tomb know about dynamics, often dropping the intensity to a sparse scrape of strings and cymbal splashes before erupting anew. They mention tension and release in their press blurb, and that really is the best way to describe what’s going on here. Lord only knows what it’s like down the front at one of their gigs.
At eight tracks and less than half an hour, the band keeps things lean and flab free, whilst still managing to pack every song with a plethora of mayhemic destructiveness. Second track Flesh Brick, the scourging Human Confetti and closer Putresence all stand out as being just about as good as it gets in this field, but picking those three out doesn’t mean there are any weaknesses to be found in the other five tracks -this is a relentlessly good album.
Cerebral Purgatory is out now.
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