This is a real show of when continents collide folks right here. Yes I could have come up with some crappy joke like I did on the Sacred Reich one, something along the lines of “An Indian, a Finnish chap, and an Aussie walk into a bar. The bartender look at them and says “What can I get you guys”, and they respond in unison with “Something strong, ’cause that really fucking hurt..”. Boom tish! But no, I will just call this the great meeting of minds from different continents, and just leave it at that…
Anyway, here’s The ProgCaveOgier, The Great Mackintosh, and Trendcrusher each having their say about Tomb Mold‘s latest release, “Planetary Clairvoyance“. Read on!
ProgCaveOgier.
Canada’s Tomb Mold did not really waste time getting a new album out after album of the year list regular “Manor of Infinite Forms” out in 2018. Only a year later they are releasing the follow up called “Planetary Clairvoyance” and the Death Metal world rejoices. But to me “Planetary…” sounds like it could have used a extra month or so to work on pre-production. Unfortunately. The case with the new album is that it looks right, sounds right, but when you look deep into it, it remains a bit shallow maybe. There really don’t seem to be enough big hooks to hold the interest throughout, and the result sounds rather quite calculated and… safe. Heavy bits are heavy, but what you would expect too. Not too intense at all. Interludes are welcomed, but not really memorable. Despite the huge interest towards the album, this release left me unfortunately a bit cold. If it was released 10 years ago, it would have fared better when Old School Death Metal was still not this saturated a scene, but right now in 2019, we are getting quite a few more interesting releases out per year so the new Tomb Mold remains as that infamous ‘quite ok’ album for me.
Rating – 3/5
The Great Mackintosh.
For me, this one hits all the right notes. After gazing into the tomb for a while they have decided to cast their gaze into the tombs of the universe. It’s not an odd thing that Death Metal bands are now looking somewhere else than just the very dirt below them, but some just sound ridiculous. Tomb Mold have done such a great job here of keeping thing’s moving along, at several different paces, that I cannot find this at all boring unlike a few other bands that are being raved about at the moment, one riff repeated doth not make an album, Give us some variety, keep it interesting, even if it means changing the subject to the outer regions of the universe, and all the tombs of the dead that must lay there.
Yes, opinions seem to be divided, but as I often state each to their own, and by the stars is their some stiff competition around this year without a doubt. For me this is still a definite yes, and you must at least give it a go.
Rating – 4.5/5
Trendcrusher.
It has taken me a while to write this review, the primary reason being that I had high expectations for “Planetary Clairvoyance”, as I enjoyed Tomb Mold’s previous release “Manor of Infinite Forms”. I had described the album as “A slamming debut full length from the Canadian act. I was reminded of my favourite Death Metal records from the 90’s while listening to it. A must listen for Death Metal fans”
The quartet gave us a glimpse of the chaos that was to come on “Planetary Clairvoyance” with the 2 track Ep “Cerulean Salvation” that released late last year. The band start off with all cylinders firing from the first track itself “Beg for Life”. This continues for the next 38 odd minutes with “Phospherene Ultimate”, the only track that offers relief from the sonic assault. The suffocating production will haunt you for a while after listening to the album, and have you reaching back for more.
A couple listens to “Planetary Clairvoyance” is all it will take to realise why Tomb Mold is one of the most talked about Death Metal acts currently around. The album is another winner in my books from 20 Buck Spin, who are having a stellar year so far.
Rating – 4/5
Find out the future of the planets for yourself below!
The Metal Wanderlust 