Tomb of Finland – Across the Barren Fields
Release Date: 19th August 2022
Label: Uprising! Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Melodic Death Metal, Black Metal, Doom Metal.
FFO: Full of Hell, Cult Leader, Yautja.
Review By: Paul Cairney
Across the Barren Fields is the 3rd album by 5-piece Finnish band, Tomb of Finland, and it is as fine a slab of Melodic Metal as you will hear this year. Listed as being ‘Melodic Death-Metal Doomsters’, referring this album as melodic metal is perhaps a misnomer, with each of the 9 tracks on offer featuring impressive dirty vocals from Olli Sovanto, which ensures it sits in the ‘extreme’ category of metal.
The fact is, the riffs that permeate throughout the album are as catchy as a 1500lb Marlin, and due to the 43-minute runtime, they leave you left begging for more. From the opening track, ‘Waiting for the End’, Tomb of Finland (an impressive name for a band) bring out the hooks, trapping you until the last remnants of ‘In Memoriam’ begin to fade away.
There are stand-out moments, ‘Cursed be the One’ is a fantastic track, crushing melodic doom riffs are contained by a lower range vocal delivery and an inspired bass tone. You will note that the word, ‘doom’, was utilised in the previous description. This is key to the enjoyment of the album. Tomb of Finland have managed to combine elements of Death, Doom and mix in a slight hint of black Metal in Across the Barren Fields, and they have managed it with apparent ease. Nothing is shoehorned in, and everything is where it should be. It is an excellent piece of song composition and song writing.
Across the Barren Fields also demonstrates growth within the band. Whilst their 1st couple of albums are perfectly listenable, here we find Tomb of Finland making massive strides forward. Although still melodic, the album is heavy where required. There as aspects of the album that remind me of their Finnish contemporaries, ‘Omnium Gatherum’, especially the riffs in ‘Shadows of the North’. However, the melodic nature is far heavier than ‘OG’ and the song is better for it.
Listening to this album again, it is incredibly difficult to find any areas where the album falls down, perhaps the structure in a handful of the tracks could be described as having slight repetition, but to be honest, this shouldn’t affect your enjoyment of the album at all.
Tomb of Finland are now 3 albums in, and the band have improved with each and every release. This is a band that should be on your radar, if they aren’t already.
(4.5 / 5)
