Ashen Tomb – Ecstatic Death Reign
Release Date: 18th October 2024
Label: Everlasting Spew Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Death Metal, Old School Death Metal.
FFO: Incantation, Abhorrence, Autopsy, Dismember.
Review By: Rick Farley
Finnish death metal quintet Ashen Tomb are about to unleash their debut album Ecstatic Death Reign upon the unexpecting death metal horde. Set for release on October 18th, 2024, via Everlasting Spew Records, this will surely lead legions of metalheads straight into the depths of hell. With glorious nods to the mighty Incantation, the nasty aggression of Autopsy, the off-centred approach of Immolation and hooky Bolt Thrower-esque grooves, you’ll find rather quickly that Ashen Tomb are a band on the cusp of world domination. Not once feeling like a clone, but rather a band with strong influences that immediately fit right alongside those names within the time period that this record belongs in. There’s a lot of OSDM bands these days, but there’s very few that actually sound authentic. Ashen Tomb is one of those few.
Formed in Helsinki just a few short years ago in 2021, Ashen Tomb play no nonsense, aggressive, dense, grindy death metal that’s well versed in the ways of the all the old school death metal stylings. Cavernous growls ranging between coarse gurgling and some of the sickest gutturals I’ve heard in a while, vocalist Ilkka Laaksonen sounds like a demon trapped in a cage. Guitarists Joonatan Mäkinen and Roni Oksanen’s warping, jagged, chainsaw riffs utilize a varied approach to brutalizing with swampy stomps and grimy, spider like spaciousness. Think Immolation meets Dismember meets death “n” roll. Switching quickly between riff progressions where you can hear the nasty screech of the pick scrapes while getting the ever living snot beat out of you only adds to the unhinged personality of the record. Throw in ripping, nasty leads and we’re talking pure savagery. Fast-paced brutality meets swaggering hooks meets grisly atmosphere. Occasionally trudging close to the mid-tempo sludgy doom realm with traces of thrash metal for good measure, Ashen Tomb use their entire toolbox to enhance their fast-paced, bone crushing rhythm section. Bassist Karhu Kuru’s slinky, full toned low end builds a foundation for drummer Valtteri Viro to solidify with frenzied blasting and neck breaking groove. In short, this is death metal the way it’s meant to be.
Right from the get-go, Body Bag starts grinding at your flesh with schizophrenic twisting guitars, brute force blasting and gurgling roars. The band sluggishly starts to drag your lifeless body through the murk with a slimy bassline that leads to hook filled, mangled hellfire. Twisted melodic leads over the blunt force of the track are both menacing and unnerving. The powerful grooviness of title track Ecstatic Death Reign brings some Florida death metal into the mix, while also having some airy atmospherics that float ominously over the walls of distortion. Another outstanding standalone bassline to introduce some sickening snaking guitars adds more heaviness to this track. Ancient Tombs Sealed with Dead Tongues to Preserve the Hidden One Slumbering in the Bowels of the earth (Mummified in the Cavernous Darkness) takes the listener through a journey full of blistering pace, darkened soundscapes, and enough chainsaw swagger to easily carve straight through your bones. This unruly track runs the gamut of everything I love about death metal into one polarizing, lethal dose of rampage.
First listen of Ecstatic Death Reign and you’ll notice that the production on this record doesn’t grate your ears into bloody, little pieces of flesh. Absolutely dense as hell, raw and grimy but without the piercing abrasion that’s typical of this genre. For such a brutal record, this is easily digested and sounds incredible. Seriously, at this point you should just be checking this band out; it won’t be long before everyone else is. Easy recommend.
(4.5 / 5)
