Forgotten Tomb sometimes plays with a nice little touch of the groovy. Notice, for example, the way the opening track "Deprived" opens with a solid riff that brings us nicely into the first verse. When the vocals enter, though, the groove gets lost, making room only for a much simpler musical passage, one that serves the vocals more than anything else. I missed that opening groove, especially since it doesn't show up nearly as often as it should on the other tracks. Sure, there's a little bit of heavy riffing from time to time, but these guys mostly just turn back to the relentless and driving tremolo picking so commonly used these days. Since this band describes itself as a blend of black and doom metal, I was hoping for a little more riffing, something that they really only tease us with. I was disappointed, further, with the acoustic passages that show up here because they don't offer any interesting patterns, just the same arpeggio repeated over and over. Indeed, the album as a whole is mostly an extended variation on similar formulas, patterns, and lyrics. I don't know how this release compares to other works by Forgotten Tomb, but I suspect that this is neither a groundbreaking new release, nor a significant departure from an established pattern.
Track Listing:
1. Deprived
2. …And Don't Deliver Us From…
3. Cold Summer
4. Let's Torture Each Other
5. Love Me Like You'd Love the Death
6. Adrift
7. Nullifying Tomorrow