Tombstalker from Lexington, Kentucky have behind them a debut that goes back to 2015 and an EP that showed promise. «Chaos Monolith» is their second full-length album and shows a band that knows what it wants: dirty, old death metal with crust and thrash at its base.
Country: USA (Kentucky)
Genre: Old-school death metal, crust, thrash
For fans of: Bolt Thrower, Entombed, Autopsy
The album
Tombstalker formed in 2008 as a trio of musicians who had come through Rotting Kingdom and Pyromancer. Their path began with the self-titled EP of 2011, continued with «Black Crusades» (2015) and «Age of Darkness» (2023), where the sound took on a more semi-melodic texture and a more thunderous production. On drums for the new album is Dustin Boltjes (Flesher, formerly Demiricous), who had also played as a session player on the previous EP.
The material keeps the HM-2 character and the d-beat bursts, with moves that recall Bolt Thrower, but here everything is tighter: cleaner changes, heavier steps and riffs that hold to the end.
Our take
The album doesn’t try to reinvent the genre, nor does it seek to. It’s the work of a band that has found its spot: dirty sound, speed and that underground feeling that rarely comes out anymore. For those who love old death metal, «Chaos Monolith» has enough moments to stay on the shelf.
See also: Obituary – Cause of Death | DEATH KOMMANDER – The Great Offensive
