Richard HolmesResin Tomb – Resin Tomb (Brilliant Emperor Records)
It may be situated in sun-kissed Queensland, but Brisbane is beating to the pulse of the netherworld. Disentomb have helped to put the city firmly on the extreme metal map. But Snorlax, Descent and Siberian Hell Sounds, among others, have all come hurtling out of Brisbane in recent years, gaining international attention for their abrasive sonic assaults.
And musicians from all three bands have converged to produce Resin Tomb’s nightmarish first onslaught, a five-track opus that is as unsettling as it is vicious.
Siphoning plenty of primordial ooze from their other projects and mixing it with nerve-jangling dissonance, Resin Tomb make one hell of an impression on their debut. This is multi-faceted, blackened deathgrind that screams from the deepest urban abyss.
Vocalist (and SHS frontman) Matthew Budge has a throat coated with venom and vomit, while guitarist Brendan Auld – Snorlax mastermind and six stringer with SHS and Descent – comes from the Kurt Ballou school of 21st century extremity. Their combination – backed by a pummelling rhythm section – is frighteningly good.
The tunes themselves? Opener Abrogate is perfectly adequate, but Resin Tomb quickly picks up from there…
Surfacing is the pick of the bunch, a wash of sub-zero fretwork and skin-flaying blastbeats, a song that neatly encapsulates this act’s vision.
Bestial runs it a close second. Does what it says on the tin? Well yes, initially. But weaved into its rabid heart are icy layers of angular riffery and a pervading sense of dread… which intensifies as the EP decays towards its conclusion.
So if you want to explore Brisbane’s dark underbelly, Resin Tomb would be a good place to start. It’s cold. Merciless. Unforgiving. And it demands attention.
