Tomb Mold - Aperture of Body Demo

Journeying through the dark depths of space.

(Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on June 23rd 2022) 

Life is truly full of surprises. Originally, I was planning to review Tomb Mold’s Planetary Clairvoyance (it’s still going to happen, promise), but out of nowhere they decided to drop this here demo. It’s been 3 years since the last time we heard from these guys, and with the pandemic happening I feared for the worst. Thankfully they’re still together, and Aperture of Body is proof they haven’t missed a step, even after such a long period of silence.
Strange as it might seem, Tomb Mold is a band that has been subtly changing between releases, and things aren’t different here. From the riffy Finndeath of Manor of Infinite Forms to the caverndeath of Planetary Clairvoyance, they’ve gone through plenty of stylistic shifts while still maintaining their core. Aperture of Body sees a gradual shift towards the quasi-prog style that has been ever so popular these days, with a focus on more out there and spacey songwriting. The title track features a jagged bass break, subsequently followed by a warping long-winded lead sequence, whereas the latter half of “Prestige of Rebirth” is an emotive acoustic jam-like segment, resulting in a very powerful ending for what is only a mere demo. The way every instrument just adds an extra dimension of its own makes this moment dense despite how relaxed it really is.
Seeing as we’re talking about death metal though, we need riffs, and thankfully there’s no shortage of them here, despite the demo’s brevity. You’ve got searing tremolo runs, hefty grooves, downtempo doomy segments, the whole works. Tomb Mold’s riff writing is excellent, and it’s nice to see that they haven’t skimmed on that, even on a demo. There’s quite a bit of Timeghoul and The Chasm influence seeping through it all, but it’s all seen from the band’s own lens, and they’ve given it their own spin, which is always better than just replicating what those who came before you did wholesale.
The production here is also really high quality for a demo, and it really helps bring the most out of the music. It’s crisp and clear while also maintaining its organic feel, resulting in powerful instruments whose intricacies can be heard at all times. A solid drumset serves as a rather adventurous base, upon which the crunchy guitars and rumbly bass further expand upon, leading to a very multifaceted sound. The mixing is also quite solid, barring the kick drum being a smidgen quieter than I’d have liked, and the bass getting a little lost during the faster segments.

Other than that, everything about the sound presented here is vibrant and full of character, making for a really pleasant listening experience.
Really, all I have to complain about is the fact that the obligatory intro track, “Final Assembly of Light” is too long in the context of a sub 15-minute demo. Other than that, Aperture of Body is Tomb Mold giving us some signs of life after a prolonged period of silence. It’s a very brief, but also exceptionally sweet release that showcases a new sonic direction, and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t excite me. To say that I’m looking forward to what follows from now on would be a severe understatement, and I’ve faith that they’ll be able to live up to the standard they’ve set for themselves over all these years.
Highlight: Prestige of Rebirth

Rating: 94% 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Batushka & Houle concert report, 28/09/2025

Image
Salted Wounds and Incense; or, a Black Metal escapade Besides getting to know a place like the back of your hand, I’m a firm believer that you’ve truly made yourself at home somewhere when you start participating in the area’s local artistic events, which, for a guy like me, tend to begin and end with attending concerts of artists passing through the area. It’s a great way of meeting people with similar interests as you, and as we all know, shared experiences foster connection between people, through reminiscing and simply “being in the moment”. It’s always been the little things that stuck with me at shows, and a city as small as Thessaloniki is proud to boast of a very tight-knit metal community, where everyone’s a regular at the same few places, and tends to show up in the same shows as you do. You get to see some people you’ve talked to in passing, and perhaps even share an awkward “Were you in [X] show? Wasn’t it cool?” moment. There’s a charm to such interactions that is hard t...
Read more

Sacred Serenity - Redefining Life

Image
Hit 'em with the brain destroyer. I haven’t gone digging in a while, but I generally take great pleasure in stumbling upon up-and-coming bands, preferably ones that could be defined as “hungry”. Musicians pour their hearts into their art, and then thrust it upon an unsuspecting public in hopes of being seen and appreciated by however small a group. It takes a lot of courage and drive to do that, and it’s such a quality that defines Sacred Serenity, and their debut, Redefining Life . This one-man progressive deathrash (!) project is helmed by the young (even younger at the time of this album’s release) Jonas Doehler, who somehow managed to put together something that one would expect from veterans of the style, all while juggling five more active bands at the time of writing. Talk about having a busy schedule. Clocking in at less than 25 minutes (without the instrumental version of the album), this is a release that operates on “shock and awe” tactics. Though there are moments of re...
Read more

Elder - Lore

Image
Albums I like a lot: Part II (Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on August 21st 2021)  Stoner doom’s always been a hit or miss genre for me. On one hand, it has a vibe and energy that can scarcely be matched by other styles, on the other you can only hear so many bands rip off Sabbath riffs before you get bored. As a whole it’s a very single minded style that rarely goes beyond being heavy and “weed lmao”. And I say rarely because Elder exists. While their earliest work falls in that category (more specifically their self-titled), they’ve always had a unique flavour to them. Ever since Dead Roots Stirring they’ve added these subtle psychedelic and at times progressive touches that helped them stand out from the rest of the bands in the genre. Their third outing, Lore stands out for being the perfect marriage of psych and stoner doom, and has cemented itself as my favourite album in the genre, and by extension the band’s catalogue. From the very first few...
Read more