2026 Iron Fortress Records (CD)
ironfortressrecords.com
9/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS
I'm always wary of bands that proclaim themselves devotees of the HM-2 sound, since it's been done to death, but I should have had no qualms here. As I should have expected, the folks at Iron Fortress seem to have the same ear for death metal that I do - I find most of their releases exceptional, and this is...well... no exception. Tombseeker takes the sound of the old gods of Sweden and injects originality, brutality, and quality songwriting into the mix, to devastating results. Big chunky riffs made of lead and murder abound. Heavy-ass breakdowns are added to the time-honored sound for an ultra-heavy take on the style. When they slow things down this way they rely on heaviness and groove, which they employ masterfully. They're not afraid of blastbeats, either, which serves to set them apart from the legions of bands playing this style in lesser forms, and the quality of their songwriting shines in every track as well as having a multitude of hooks in every song. At the risk of being superficial, I wanted to remark that this band even looks the part, dressed in full on denim and leather in their promo photo, which is nice to see. This is a very refreshing take on an old style, and an excellent effort overall, and I expect I'll be plunking down some cash for this one eventually to add it to my collection. It's truly a fine record.
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