Paratomb – Nocturnal Spirit Rituals
March 1st, 2024
Blackened Death Metal
Independently Released
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada
When I covered the first Paratomb EP earlier this year, Ways of the Forlorn, I found it to be a release full of great riffage and ideas but also perhaps underwhelming in a few ways, mixing a few more elements of groove metal into the mixture than I otherwise would have liked. Stepping into the band’s second effort, Nocturnal Spirit Rituals, I was expecting more of the same, but was pleasantly surprised to find that this new release improves upon their debut in just about every way, but most noticeably with just how much more menacing this one sounds.
The EP opens with a prolonged and spooky synth introductory track, the title track no less, which immediately conjures comparisons to the soundtracks of such classic horror films as The Exorcist and Halloween. It’s got a very noticeable John Carpenter vibe to it, which immediately drew me in and got me excited for what was to come, even if it did somewhat overstay its welcome.
What comes next, on the track “Ancient Embodiments of the Red Planet”, was exactly what I was hoping for from the band on their first EP. The riffs here are immediately aggressive and in your face, slamming brutally against the interior of your skull like a series of bullets being rattled out of a Gatling gun. It’s not long before the guitars get slower and doomier with it, much more than I was anticipating. I don’t think it would be too far of a stretch to draw comparisons to bands like Morbid Angel here, given the way the guitars slow down and harmonize with one another before screaming out with high pitched wailing that creates such an ominous atmosphere.
Aside from the fantastic riffage the drumming has also improved significantly. There are some really interesting, creative, and technically complex beats happening all across this EP, keeping things interesting by constantly changing tempo and time signatures. Long sections of relentless black metal blast beats are interjected with deep-in-your-soul thuds upon the toms, bringing bands like Nile and Immolation to mind with their angular, cavemanic rhythms.
The vocals here are also significantly improved. The majority of the EP consists of guttural growls, though they sound much more bestial and vicious than on Ways of the Forlorn. Occasionally the gutturals are joined with high pitched screams at the same time, especially on the track “Forbidden Transmigrations”, which produces a sound that borders on war metal. The clean-adjacent yelling that was dominant on the first EP still crops up, but I feel like its used much more tastefully here, reminding me of Joe Duplantier from Gojira’s vocal approach.
This thing is also mixed fantastically. It’s certainly lo-fi and has a raw-as-fuck approach to it that I absolutely adore. It feels like I’m right there in the jam space listening to these guys run through these songs. You can hear that the drums are being played by an actual human. The vocals sound unhinged and disgusting. The bass cuts through the guitars and the guitars are at just the right level of volume. There’s a lot of variety going on too in how the different guitar tracks interplay with one another, and it just makes for an overall very enjoyable listening experience.
Paratomb really surprised me with just how good this EP is. While I already liked them based on their first release this thing feels like they pulled out all of the stops to really wow their listeners and show people exactly what they’re capable of. It’s not pure death metal. It’s not pure black metal either. There are indeed shades of both going on here, but the groove-adjacent leanings present on their first EP are mostly gone in favour of this rawer, more bestial approach, and I for one am absolutely here for it.
Final Verdict: 4.5/5
Awesome
Favourite Tracks:
“Ancient Embodiments of the Red Planet”
“Forbidden Transmigrations”
~ Akhenaten
Where Strides The Behemoth? 