Beats and yelling: Tombstone
The Philosophy of Eternal Recurrence
Out 19th April, self-released
Jakarta’s Tombstone return for album number three of no thrills melodic black metal pulling from the mid-90s Swedish style. Here we see the contours flattened off somewhat for the sake of producing an even more direct, transparent delivery mechanism for linear runs of simple melodic sequences, clear in their intention and development.
Tombstone have attempted to beef up the production for this release. The drums a thick, bassy stew. The snare and bass have had the decay curtailed somewhat, as if trying to strengthen the impact of the rhythm section whilst retaining a degree of clarity when playing at high speed. The guitar is equally bottomed out, muddying the soaring melodic runs for the sake of undergirding the atonal runs with a sense of power. Mid-range black metal vocals cut through this murk with clarity, their confidence guiding the phrasing and energetic drifts of the music beyond the stylistic norm.
The oddly warm production only calls attention to the more direct, austere approach taken on this release. The overarching impetus is still guided by an epic melodicism informed by a latent heavy metal euphoria. But these simple yet ambitious runs are offset by the more primal, barbaric side to black metal, at times offering blunt grooves with a playful swing to them as a neat contrast to the more regal, blasting runs.
This latter feature makes for a welcome source of variation given the lack of solos or distinctive lead guitar material. In many ways ‘The Philosophy of Eternal Recurrence’ brings this form of black metal back to its roots as a rumination in pure riff. Even the simplest theme is given the chance to unpack itself and develop to a place of complexity or dramatic import given the austerity and single mindedness behind the presentation. Simple harmonic material is only occasionally layered on top as a way to achieve a sense of resolution and greater topography across what are otherwise elegantly simple compositions.
This degree of focus makes Tombstone prima facie appear relatively simple by modern metal standards, as different genres continue to fly off into ever more specific gradations of complexity and extremity. Rather than a pure recapitulation of the past, this album offers a reappraisal of its techniques and meaning through an ethos of strict frugality. All the attention and focus is placed on the riffs themselves and their flowing interaction into one another, memetic forms given space to evolve over the course of a piece, free of the distraction of even a guitar solo or overly elaborate lead material. This makes ‘The Philosophy of Eternal Recurrence’ an understated curiosity whose subtle appeal does not immediately jump out for anyone familiar with prior material from this artist. But after repeated listens its many slow burn virtues gradually reveal themselves.