Tombstoner – Victims of Vile Torture (Review)

Often you read band names and are immediately curious. I had a similar experience with Tombstoner. Shout outs to Blaine from “BANGERTV” who already had a lot of positive things to say about this band. Victims of Vile Torture is the debut album of Tombstoner. The quartet plays uncompromising Death Metal that is presented on ten songs.

First of all, the production on the album is insane! Everything sounds very clear and distinct, yet still organic. Rarely have I heard such a well-produced debut from a Metal band. Musically, Tombstoner is strongly oriented towards Cannibal Corpse. Especially riffs and drumming remind me of the legendary band from Florida. Songs like “Victims of Vile Torture” or “Sledgehammer” show parallels to the aforementioned group – no matter if drumming or guitars.

Does this mean that Tombstoner don’t have their unique style? On the contrary, especially the vocals stand out from many other bands and bring in a slight Hardcore influence. Here and there also huge mosh parts hide in the form of breakdowns. Best example is the just mentioned song “Sledgehammer”. Whoever does not want to move to this surpassed any possibility for help. Especially the end of the track progresses into a gorefest part, which surprised me positively.

Speaking of surprises, the gangshouts on “Breaking Point” also caught me cold. Especially live it should be a lot of fun to shout BREAKING POINT into the microphone. On “Fractured Souls,” Tombstoner prove how technically adept the guys from New York can play. The solo shows the virtuoso side of the band. In general, the guitar solos are one of my highlights on the album. However, there still is a strong drum solo to be heard on “Grave Dancer”. With “Frozen in Fear” you move a bit into modern spheres, as far as the sound of Tombstoner is concerned. It is the dark horse of the album for me. Maybe it’s also due to the unexpected Sepultura groove given here by the drums.

If you like melodic influences, you’ll get your money’s worth with “Armageddon” and “Trepidation”. Ben Karas supports the New Yorkers here namely with his violin and the combination of Death Metal and classic music fits perfectly . Especially on the last song of the album the strings provide the perfect outro.

All in all, Tombstoner deliver a rock solid album with Victims of Vile Torture. The production could not be better, here and there very creative and surprising moments flash. Exactly because of these, the debut seems refreshing and anything but a bad Cannibal Corpse copy. Especially regarding another collaboration between the band and Ben Karas I would be very happy. His guest part is a clear highlight for me! The album was already released on July 30th via Redefining Darkness Records, if you are in the mood for refreshing Death Metal, you should keep an eye on Tombstoner!

7 / 10

Favorite Tracks:
“Breaking Point”
“Armageddon”