Greytomb

MONUMENTAL MICROCOSM TRANSCENDING OBSCURITY ATMOSPHERIC BLACK METAL FROM AUSTRALIA’S UNFORGIVING PLAINS

Australia isn’t the first place you’d think of for producing black metal, but the vast landscape lends itself well to expansive and winding darkness, Greytomb are one such example, and while Monumental Microcosm isn’t a complete breath of fresh air in the genre, their attempt is solid and worth a listen. Small niggles with varying vocal approaches aside (the screams are much more forceful that the clumsy ‘spoken’ sections that are used too much), the EP is a strong step forward from debut A Perpetual Descent and develops on its walls of raw sound and atmospheric sections with ease. Dissonance filters through the three tracks and in Force Majeure off-kilter rhythms create a sense of foreboding that echoes keenly. There’s a lot to like here – N. Magur’s incredible screams, the melancholy, the atmosphere, and that’s what Greytomb need to build on for the future.

CHERYL CARTER

FOR FANS OF: AUSTERE, MG’L’A,

DRUDKH