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CARBON TOMB “Passage To A Neutron Star”
CARBON TOMB “Passage To A Neutron Star”
By Dr. Abner Mality
The big problem I have with the dissonant style of death metal is that very little of it sticks. There is an impact, but not a real lasting one. Surely the objective of most music is to remain in your head for more than a few minutes? Most disso-death fails to achieve this.
CARBON TOMB from Denmark is firmly in the dissonant camp, but they are not so “out there” that they fail to register. For one thing, the songs on “Passage To A Neutron Star” are of short duration, so they don’t enter the realm of agonizing monotony like a lot of tracks in this genre do. And that also holds true for the album itself.
As per almost every Transcending Obscurity record, the production is immaculate. Probably a little too much so for those who love old school death and thrash. But everything is super clear as well. Despite CARBON TOMB’s undeniable talent and their admirable efficiency, many of the songs here just don’t stick in the way that classic old school death metal does. I think the first track “Chanting Spells I” had a cool rhythm in it that propels it along. “The Dog Hunter” had a melancholy that was compelling and is not dependent on speed. Speaking of which, some tracks like “Gogoffmagog” and “Reversed Head Renewal” exist solely to rip a hole in the space time continuum with insane speed.
“Passage To A Neutron Star” is actually one of the better dissonant death metal albums I’ve heard recently, yet it still suffers from a lack of catchiness. The average OSDM album will remain in your brain longer, I guarantee. But this might be chalked up to my personal taste as well.
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