Tombstoner - Rot Stink Rip

Tombstoner – Rot Stink Rip
Release Date: 26th April 2024
Label: Redefining Darkness Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Death Metal
FFO: Creeping Death, Frozen Soul, Cannibal Corpse, Fuming Mouth.
Review By: Mark Young

Well, this slaps. I appreciate that a person of my vintage using such a description maybe somewhat cringe, but it works for me.

Tombstoner comes in and deals a deadly hand with their second full-length release, and it is an absolute pearler. Starting with an instrumental introduction that sets a sonic tone for the carnage to follow. I’ve said this elsewhere, I am not a fan of intro tracks, just give me the best song you have to kick the album off and let’s go. Sealed in Blood does just that, it’s a blast that brings you tempo changes, all the riffs you can shake a metallic bar at. As a song, it’s constantly shifting gear and serves as a statement of intent for the songs that follow. The pace doesn’t let up with Rot Stink Rip flying in, bringing with it a dose of the technical amongst the brutality. Make no mistake, this is a quality one-two from them (putting the intro to one side). Fuckin’ Nasty is just ace, its one of those songs that just pummels forward, and you can see people stage diving like lemmings to this. Its immediate, frenetic stuff ending with a nailed-on crowd scream-along. Static comes in at a canter, going for a more lumbering speed that enables the twin guitar team of Daniel Megill and Jesse Quinones to flex some solid grooves here. There is still room for drumnastics from Jason Quinones who keeps it ticking along.

When Metamorphosis kicks in it reminds me instantly of Morbid Angel, circa Domination in the way it’s phrased and arranged. Tonally, it sits differently and gives them a different edge to follow. Reduced to Hate maintains the change in tone whilst marrying it to the earlier song builds. What it doesn’t change is the strength of these songs, the way that they just hit is fantastic. It’s just straight into the good stuff, aiming for the throat. Compulsive Ruminations runs like this, barely a pause then Desperate Dreams unleashes the blasts, and we are back into that technical side with a storming guitar line. It’s getting to that point where I am starting to run out of ways to say how good this sounds. The solo break is spot on, but listen to the backing riff, it’s a rhythm solo in itself. It’s these things that make it so good. It’s not just the rapido riffs, or the drumming or the vocals it’s how they put it all together. And that solo is mint.

Vials is our penultimate stop, and they change tack again, mixing up-tempo and measures whilst maintaining the intensity and quality. Leave You for Last is also possibly leaving the best for last. Over the course of 5 minutes, they navigate a path that takes the best from all of the songs leading up to it. It is monstrous and is a prime example of a band closing out what is going to be one of the strongest albums of 2024.

Those albums that immediately come in head and shoulders above the rest are rare. This is one of those albums.