About.com Rating
The Bottom Line
Tombs Of The Blind Drugged is drone metal with a hint of sludge and doom that engulfs the listener with a dismal and suffocating atmosphere.
Pros
- Bleak and despairing; in other words, exactly what drone metal should be.
- Innovative use of an organ in the title track.
- Has a hypnotic effect to it.
Cons
- Not for the casual metal fan.
- Repetition plays a large part in the songwriting, which may irk some listeners.
Description
- Released July 7, 2009 on Rise Above Records.
- Moss’s third album.
- Follow-up to 2008’s Sub Templum.
Guide Review - Moss - 'Tombs Of The Blind Drugged'
Drone doom metal has never sounded as grim as it does on Moss’s third album Tombs Of The Blind Drugged. Sounding like it was recorded in the catacombs of a lost Egyptian pyramid, Tombs Of The Blind Drugged is depressing and grotesque, throwing conventional songwriting to the side and focusing on delivering a frigid atmosphere. It’s a tough album to comprehend without an open mind and several hours of downtime, which makes it the perfect album for fans of the genre.
For forty minutes, Moss move at a snails-pace, content to dragging the listener through rocky terrain towards the crypts of the underworld. The four tracks are epic in scope, trading in progression for repetition and heavily distorted guitars that play long-winded power chords. The album is not meant for the faint of heart or those looking for a quick fix in their metal music; Moss tortures the ears with piercing screams and hollow production.
At its very foundation, Moss’s music is simplistic, with only a guitar and drum kit to produce the madness. Complexity is not in the band’s dictionary, but what the band lacks in technical prowess, they more than make up for in creating an almost trace-like state that elopes over the whole album.
The tracks are all over the ten-minute mark, save for the cover of the Discharge classic “Maimed And Slaughtered,” which is extended to extreme lengths and given an evil, sludgy make-over. An organ is used in the outro to the title track, bringing dynamics to the band that adds tension and a sinister feel to the already-morose tune.
Tombs Of The Blind Drugged is another solid album from Moss, a refined version of their earlier, more ambitious albums. While casual metal fans will scoff at the overly plodding songs and cold production, drone metal fans will latch onto this underground gem from the UK trio.