Tomb Mold: Planetary Clairvoyance (2019)

2019 has been an amazing year for death metal.  Honestly I could probably do an end of year Top 10 list just covering death metal bands.  New albums from Gatecreeper, Nucleus, Coffin Rot, Ossuarium, Superstition, Vltimas, Memoriam, Witch Vomit and Possessed would all likely be on the list.  I only named nine because this one from Tomb Mold would definitely be on it as well.  And that is not to count albums that I am waiting to receive from Fetid, Cerebral Rot, Vastum and Ossuary. 

Tomb Mold is a Canadian death metal band whose previous lyrical subject matter dealt mostly with the Dark Souls and Bloodborne series of games.  I personally have played Bloodborne and cannot make it past the second boss battle with Father Gascoigne because the game is fucking hard.  Tomb Mold has moved past this rather limiting subject matter on this release though and gone in more of a general horror direction.

The music is a little different than some of the bands listed above in that Tomb Mold is not overly concerned with being the most extreme, brutal or punishing band out there.  The music is certainly intense, but it is more of a murkier, oozing, grimy death metal.  The riffs all have incredibly meaty distortion adding to the overall menace of the album.  The songs are all well-crafted with multiple sections and the band is able to alternate between fast and intense to creepy and somber at the drop of a hat.  The band builds on the frightening sound with a number of atmospheric moments, such as the very odd "Phosphorene Ultimate" with its strange vocals and eerie guitar lines.

This album is the best one Tomb Mold has released to date.  As much as I enjoyed Manor of Infinite Forms, this album absolutely blows it out of the water.  2019 has been an amazing year for death metal and Tomb Mold's Planetary Clairvoyance is one of the biggest reasons why.