Glacial Tomb – Lightless Expanse
Release Date: 20th September 2024
Label: Prosthetic Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Sludgy Blackened Death Metal
FFO: Maul, Frozen Soul, Vastum.
Review By: Eric Wilt
Glacial Tomb fans have had to be patient as they waited for a follow-up to the band’s 2018 self-titled debut album. Their new album, Lightless Expanse, was written during ’21 and ’22, was recorded and sent for mixing and mastering by April of ’23 but is only now seeing the light of day in September of ’24. On March 14 of this year, the band posted on social media that as they shopped their album around to labels, “we’ve learned that far, far too many bands are willing to give a label perpetual ownership of their art for the equivalent of a car loan.” Not willing to jump at the first offer handed to them, Glacial Tomb finally decided to let Prosthetic Records handle the album’s release. So now the album has a home and its release is imminent, but with all this waiting, one question must be asked. Was it worth it? And the answer is undoubtedly yes!
Glacial Tomb’s music doesn’t fit into one genre or category because there’s so much going on in each song. Comprised of founding members Ben Hutcherson on guitar and vocals, Michael Salazar on drums, and newcomer David Small (of Khemmis) on bass, Glacial Tomb melds black metal rhythms with death metal blasts, sludgy atmosphere, and d-beat grooves to create something that is insanely heavy and seriously evil sounding. Behind the mic, Hutcherson sounds like a man possessed. Alternating between low death growls and higher pitched shrieks, he keeps things from getting boring. As for his ability on the guitar, Hutcherson’s solos are some of the most well-written and technically executed in extreme music these days.
The album may have been a long time coming, but Lightless Expanse shows a mature band playing at the top of their game, and yes, it was worth the wait.
(4 / 5)
