TOMBSTONER "Victims of Vile Torture"
By Dr. Abner Mality
"Pit-worthy" is a term not to be used lightly, but I can't think of a more appropriate description for New York's TOMBSTONER. This band was made to slam to! The Redefining Darkness label has been a reliable stop for good extreme metal...TOMBSTONER is no exception.
The band is hard to fix a simple description to, as they draw from a lot of different metal sources. Over the course of "Victims of Vile Torture", you might hear neck-breaking thrash in SLAYER mode give way to punishing breakdowns in the HATEBREED tradition or maybe pure American death metal ala CANNIBAL CORPSE or MALEVOLENT CREATION mixed with the groove of "Far Beyond Driven" PANTERA. These guys just seem to play whatever style seems to suit them at the time, but the mixture sounds logical and smooth instead of jarring. Death metal purists might bitch about the occasional groovy or hardcore part, but TOMBSTONER can appeal to bangers across the board.
These guys have something of the same appeal that POWER TRIP has, only heavier. They also have some unusual parts, like the bluesy breakdown in "Armageddon" or the atmospheric addition of violins to the otherwise raging "Trepidation". On the other hand, the dual vocal approach is pretty familiar and that band doesn't rock the boat with too much experimentation. It's just that they're not content to stick to just one or two influences. The result is a well rounded album that still slams like a son of a bitch. Another strong release from Redefining Darkness!