Tombs - All Empires Fall EP (Relapse Records) 2016
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Tombs, the band led by the charismatic Mike Hill, have shown, for nine years, a level of consistency that can’t possibly be overlooked. If black metal is in its origins a European thing, it’s also undeniable the importance that the American crop has had in keeping the fire burning – Tombs are one of those bands. In their new EP, the Brooklyn-based outfit keep things as experimental as effective. For range has been one of the most important attributes in Tombs’ music, All Empires Fall reaches beyond the limits of a genre, proving that fast attacks can be matched with a phantasmagoric-slowdown soundscape without losing any cohesion or direction. Tombs keep stretching their own boundaries, reaffirming their dominance, and what’s around the corner couldn’t be more exciting.