“Diminished to ashes.”
2025 has certainly been a great year for fans of the extreme, with brutal death metal bands such as Internal Bleeding, Sanguisugabogg, and Tribal Gaze blessing the scene with fresh, bloody albums in the last couple of weeks alone. As the roster of extreme music in the death metal scene continues to grow, Canada’s Scorching Tomb plans to add to October’s lineup with the release of their debut record, Ossuary.
From Montreal, Scorching Tomb burst into the scene in 2022 with their EP, Rotting Away, followed by their 2023 release, Primal Tomb, both of which have adequately displayed a taste of the sheer visceral potential that the band are ready to inject into the scene. Scorching Tomb have a sound that embodies the current modern death metal style, with detailed yet gritty production, squealing harmonics, and polished mid-range gutturals that are appropriately paired with classic, grotesque lyrics. With these elements best heard in Primal Tomb, the band have proven that they are worthy of their space in the subgenre, and now with the upcoming release of their first full-length album, Ossuary, they are certain to pioneer their take on the death metal sound with this substantial and brutal piece of work.
Ossuary may start off like a typical modern death metal album, with its standard gory and violent lyrical themes as well as your average band arrangement. However, within the tracks themselves, this album offers the listener a subtle yet exciting twist on the genre, which contains unique rhythmic sections and tasteful use of varied production techniques that we’ve been starting to hear more from this kind of metal. Though typical OSDM-inspired sounds usually focus on clicky, bass-less drums and overly compressed mixes, Ossuary‘s tracklist includes features such as vocal doubling, popularised by the works of Glen Benton and heard in other modern examples from bands like 200 Stab Wounds. Additionally, time-based effects, such as vocal delay, have been used subtly in the song “Bloodlust Sacrifice”, which is an unusual aspect for death metal but heavily complements the album’s texture and depth.
Scorching Tomb begins this album with one of the strongest songs on its lineup, “Stalagmite Impalement”. This song is essentially everything you could ever want from a death metal track. From the very start, there’s a strong abundance of filthy breakdowns that immediately grasp the auditory attention of your ears for an aggressive, aural assault. As the song powers through its violent three minutes, every riff gets lower and slower, with vocals reminiscent of Skeletal Remains’ Chris Monroy and guitar work similar to Death’s iconic wailing leads. It certainly sets the standard high for the rest of the LP.
Another highlight of the album is its second track and initial single, “Skullcrush”, which features none other than imminent death metal legend, Devin Swank of Sanguisugabogg. This song starts with an explosive and extremely heavy introduction, leaving you in disgust as the crushed guitars and slamming drums grind in unwavering unison. Aside from its pure ferocity, this track also features dynamic rhythms that add a somewhat technical characteristic to the composition. With all of these aspects combined, there’s an utmost certainty that “Skullcrush” will become one of the band’s signature songs.
With mention of features, Ossuary’s sixth track, “Feel the Blade”, features a collaboration with fellow Montreal band, Primal Horde. Primal Horde add their signature caveman riff style to this track, with Gojira-esque pick scrapes and never-ending, nasty guitar hooks. With the solid feature and the song’s general trajectory, “Feel the Blade” raises the album back up before its inevitable end, leaving you with distortion-filled wounds in the best ways possible.
What leaves Ossuary with room for improvement would be the fourth and fifth songs, including the album’s title track. These songs aim to give the listener a break from the severe breakdowns and relenting grooves, with slower and more rung out chord progressions; however, in the case of these tracks, this attempt falls flat and kills the momentum that was built up previously. This is unfortunate, as “Sentenced to Rot” consists of a more experimental main hook, but it doesn’t really get the chance to shine. Although the instrumental work and general atmosphere of these tracks aren’t bad by any means, they are definitely the weakest parts of the album.
Despite these potential downfalls, Ossuary remains a great starting point for the band and demonstrates exponential growth within their style, production grade, and general songwriting. Additionally, with connections and features, comprising Devin Swank and others in the extreme scene, Scorching Tomb will certainly continue to ensure that Montreal modern death metal will continue to thrive in more places than one.
Regardless of any negatives, this album’s callous cruelty alone will leave you wishing for your own Ossuary.
7/10
Ossuary releases on Friday, 24th October through Time To Kill Records and can be pre-ordered here.