Black Tomb / Crud Split

October 2018 – Unsigned

Two American doom bands of the heavier variant collide, and produce “Doom is Dead”, an aptly-titled split given relative saturation of the genre in recent years. Black Tomb and Crud are here to reanimate the doom zombie, with a healthy modern coating of filth – both in tone and in composition.

Black Tomb take a somewhat more stoner/sludge approach to the split, almost dipping into Sabbath-worship here and there. Leads are what you'd expect from a dirty, down-tempo record – ugly, slow, and fitting. Drums are particularly well mixed, with just that right amount of sizzle on the cymbals – lightly seared, while the meatier riffs feel raw. Conventionally bluesy, as expected from a stoner-leaning band, but not derivative, also as expected from a stoner-leaning band. The Rotting Vault is a heavier version of Black Tomb, setting the tone for the second half of the split.

Crud is much more disgusting, in the best of ways. Their side belongs so deep in the gutter you'd almost expect to taste sewage when the riffs kick in. It's comparable to a slowed-down Lord Mantis, with much heavier vocals – and then they slow down some more. The singer dips into actual gutturals, a sign of things to come. Their bass intro in the second track is repugnant, and opens into the nastiest doom I've heard this year. The lead cuts through the mix, still ever-plodding and with none of the frills. As is tradition, Crud sign out with a minute-long breakdown – or is it a riff? It's hard to tell when everything is slow and heavy.

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