Putrid Tomb - Self-Titled EP

Tomb of the Severed.

(Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on March 4th 2022)  

Outside of good music, the resurgence of death metal has also led to me playing a little game of “name-that-influence”. It’s a fun way to try and pinpoint where bands took inspiration from when writing their music. Putrid Tomb, and their self-titled EP are one case where I found that to be particularly fun to do, and it’s only made better by the fact that the music is actually pretty good too.
As we’ve already established, the band looks to the past in order to create its music. Instead of looking at Incantation and Entombed though, they’ve taken inspiration from other old-school legends, ones that you don’t see bands cite often as influences. There’s quite a few moments here that bring to mind Autopsy and early Cannibal Corpse (think Tomb of the Mutilated), both in terms of atmosphere and the riffing present. I mean come on, the band outright pays homage to the iconic opening of “Hammer Smashed Face” on “Afterbirth”. As for the Autopsy influence, it primarily manifests in the more doomy sections, as well as the “floppy” bass tone, which brings to mind the excellent Severed Survival.
While I have spent an entire paragraph talking about the band’s influences, it does not mean Putrid Tomb is a collection of forgotten b-sides of Cannibal Corpse and Autopsy. There’s plenty of nasty riffing for one to dig their teeth into spread throughout the EPs 21 minute runtime. Whether it’s the squealing leads of “Heaven’s Gate”, the thrash-infused riffs of “The Reanimator”, or the title track’s crushing finale, things stay fresh and the group doesn’t waste your time. It’s a release that would feel right at home during the early death metal boom of the late 80s, and it’s a period of the genre that I feel doesn’t get much love in the modern era.
Speaking of the old-school, we have to discuss the production. It’s disgusting, just like the aforementioned Severed Survival, and it’s great. The guitars are fleshy, supplemented by this gore-soaked bass that makes its presence felt at all times, with the drums being quite robust, featuring a popping snare and a subterranean kick drum. The mixing is also quite good, with all the instruments being perfectly audible at all times, though I’d have loved to have a more prominent bass, in line with the Autopsy debut, which I’ve mentioned so many times one would be able to make a drinking game out of it. The kick drum could also be a touch louder, at least during one of the many double-bass runs that litter the songs, as it would’ve enhanced the already pummelling nature of the music.
For how fun this EP is, I can’t say I don’t have some complaints with it. For one, “Afterbirth” doesn’t really make much of an impression outside of the aforementioned Cannibal Corpse homage, and it doesn’t help that every other song in here wipes the floor with it. There’s also “Comatose (Soul Psychosis)”, an interlude that, while being quite pleasant, doesn’t really add much to the experience, and would’ve been better left off the release or retrofitted so that it transitioned into the title track.
On the whole, Putrid Tomb is a very fun, blood-soaked release that draws from a well that has scarcely been touched over the years. It’s full of guts, gore and all that pleasant stuff that made me fall in love with death metal to begin with, and seeing a band take influence from someone other than Incantation and Entombed is always a breath of fresh air. Here’s to hoping that they’ll grace us with more disgusting material in 2022.
Highlights: Heaven’s Gate, Putrid Tomb

Rating: 86% 

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