Thrash Metal
USA

Released 12th of July

The Maryland mechanics of mutogenic metal mete out more maniacal music.

Call it fate, providence, or just blind luck but earlier in June, I saw Voivod play a stellar set in London’s Camden Town.
For transparency, I did a bit of swotting up as I was a tad behind on the experimental metal scene.
Among some of the artists I explored, NUCLEAR TOMB was, of course, one of them.
Well, wouldn’t you know it but, less than two weeks later, EPOCH INHUMANE was released.

Being the band’s second album, one would expect some refinement and NUCLEAR TOMB do not disappoint on that front. Although, as musicians, there was little tweaking to be done, having been at this for fifteen years now.

On EPOCH INHUMANE, the majority of improvements have been made behind the glass at the mixing desk. If you like your metal on the more crusty side, you may be only slightly disappointed. Their debut album, Terror Labrynthian had that raw style, yet here all the grimy, polluted stylistics are firmly placed at the hands of the players.

If I may remind you of how this started with a Voivod reference, this is the point. The influence is engraved on EPOCH INHUMANE but, by no means the be all nor end all of the albums content. Comfort is found in some similarities with chord structures and timings, but those aren’t exclusive to Voivod. Just as with NUCLEAR TOMB, these are just tools to help put the message across.
Tracks are syncopated, complicated and elevated in its dissonance and yet, there are other layers to be found.

Within the gnarly, brusque nature of the album. I can sense some learnings from the prog death metal band Atheist being employed here and there.

You get just over half an hour of provocative and imaginative music within. Allowing both intellectual and primal listening.
It would appear that EPOCH INHUMANE has allowed NUCLEAR TOMB to fully embrace their most obvious influence with a confidence and skill to let it stand out on its own merits.
For that, I applaud the efforts put before us.

EPOCH INHUMANE is out now through Rotted Life records on streaming sites now.

Also available on digital and physical formats from the NUCLEAR TOMB Bandcamp (Here).