SCORCHING TOMB // Ossuary // Album Review

Montreal death metal/hardcore monoliths are ready to give you a lesson in brutality.

Releasing their debut album “Ossuary”, SCORCHING TOMB is a relatively new band. Their first release, the “2019 Demo” showed the band’s promise. Mixing classic death metal with modern hardcore breakdowns & grooves to create a heavy, grotesque & violent sound.

Their debut EP “Rotting Away” showed even more promise & is where I first heard the band. Easily the best EP of 2022, that’s for sure.

Now joining forces with Time To Kill Records to release their debut full-length “Ossuary”. Eight tracks of downright dirty & aggressive death-metal-influenced hardcore.

“Stalagmite Impalement”, the album’s huge opener, lets you know these guys aren’t here to play around. A mammoth tremolo riff kicks things off nicely before the band crazies in. A great two-step beat drives the track, punctuated by chaotic blast beats. Mixing elements of Morbid Angel & Skeletal Remains with the breakdowns of Xibalba & Tribal Gaze, these guys have got the formula right. Heavy as fuck riffs? CHECK! Balls to the walls, pounding drums? CHECK!, a front man who can pull off gutturals & oughs perfectly? The trifecta.

The next track “Skullcrush” feat. Devin Swank of Sanguisugabogg is a down tuned nightmare. This heavy as hell pounder of a track strips everything back & honestly takes on the monique of the song title.

This caveman like track is for all the neanderthals who like their riffs hard & primal. Vincent Patrick-Lajeunesse the band’s vocalist gives a great performance, reminding me in some moments of Frank Mullen from Suffocation with his long big screams. The band adds in these great moshable & two step moments that pick up the pace.

The breakdown of the track is where Swank’s vocal feature shines. His gruff tone & all powerful vocal fits perfectly here & having a moment with Patrick-Lajeunesse trading off is a nice element to the track.

As a nice showcase of its not just simple riffage that guitarist Philippe Leblanc is capable of, “Sanctum of Bones (Ossuary)” is a fast, technical almost thrashy track that opens at breakneck speed & only slows down to let you have a moment’s breath before the band takes you on the ride again.

The adage of the biggest breakdowns on the album yet gives this track a very epic feel, slowly building to this moment, now it’s not a chugging breakdown section but it introduces what i like to call a “big ol bad boy riff”. The band sits on it & rides it till the end of the track as all hell lets loose. This one’s a banger.

Giving me the perfect crossover of Bolt Thrower & Hatebreed “Feel the Blade” feat. Primal Horde is a right stomper of a track. A perfect blend of interesting & ear catchy riffs with the simple bouncy style riffs that grab you quickly. The interplay with the riffs with Patrick Lajeunesse’s vocal pattern syncs up so well that it had me hooked straight away. It’s for sure my favourite track on the album.

“Ossuary” is a superb & fantastic debut album. Scorching Tomb as a whole is doing something I can really back. As a hardcore kid that loves death metal, I feel they have the balance perfectly. Using the heavy riffage of old school death metal with the mindset of what makes a hardcore or metalcore track catchy & mosh worthy is their strongest asset.

If, like me, you like your music hard, heavy & soaked in filth then this album will be perfect for you.

Review: Joseph Mitchell