Band:	Tomb Mold
Album:	Planetary Clairvoyance
Style:	Death metal
Release date:	July 2019

01. Beg For Life
02. Planetary Clairvoyance (They Grow Inside Pt 2)
03. Phosphorene Ultimate
04. Infinite Resurrection
05. Accelerative Phenomenae
06. Cerulean Salvation
07. Heat Death

I reviewed a lot of OSDM albums in 2018. For some reason, I decided not to review Tomb Mold's Manor Of Infinite Forms. It got nominated for Best Death Metal Album in our awards. So I guess now it's time to right some wrongs.

Tomb Mold seems to be riding on top of the OSDM wave, getting some of the most recognition that recent bands of the kind have been getting. In a subgenre not very famous for its originality and innovation, they still managed to stand out, even in such a strong year as 2018. With a full length every year since 2016 (two demos that together have enough material for a full length in 2016, so it counts), it seems like 2019 will be no exception, with Planetary Clairvoyance already seeming to stand out from the pack. How so?

To be quite honest, I don't exactly get it why out of all the bands, Tomb Mold get so much of the attention. But out of all the bands to be getting attention, they're really not undeserving of it. They're raw, vicious, slimy and write some damn good riffs. I was a bit taken aback by how prolific they seem to have been since their inception and was worried they'd get a bit stale, but Planetary Clairvoyance is a clear step forward from Manor Of Infinite Forms. If the Sci-fi theme and the album title don't already give off hints of it, the album does take light steps towards a more technical direction, shedding bits of the doom skin they had, in turn creating some of the most engaging riffs they've ever crafted.

With an acoustic guitar interlude in the very first track and an ambient track in the very first third of the album, it seems like Tomb Mold are intentionally altering the flow of the record. A weird choice that I can't exactly praise, but it did make me more interested in what could come next. And what came next are obviously riffs, solos and repetitive growls. I like the vocals, but I really appreciate the moments where they diverge from the usual low and monotone, and thankfully there's quite a few of those. Yet it is obviously the guitar work that is deserving of praise here in its dissonant and distorted glory, with just enough changes of tempo to be appreciated in different paces.

I could probably find other OSDM bands that I'd like to have the spotlight instead of Tomb Mold, but after listening to Planetary Clairvoyance, I really don't find any reason to do so. It's far from perfect, but it does just enough things right to legitimize its place in the spotlight. From the looks of things, Tomb Mold won 2019 too. How will they fare in 2020? Only time will tell, but I'm hopeful.