Wombbath - Tales of Madness Album Review

There is something about the sound of a cranked Boss HM-2 that warms the cracked edges of my darkened soul. Like a cosy blanket on a cold winters day. If the blanket was a bag of knives. And by winters day I mean the cold embrace of hell. But warming none the less. That’s exactly the feeling that encompassed me first listening to the new offering of Tales of Madness by Wombbath.

This is not simply a new album. It contains a collection of re-recorded early demos, plus some brand new new tracks. This can often be a token offering by bands, purely bringing a little nostalgia to the table. But here it forms perfectly into an album of high quality. It feels like it was made in the early 90’s, but lost to the depths of time only to be rediscovered today (not too far from the truth). That old school lo-fi feel only Swedish Buzzsaw can conjure up.

Wombbath have been around since 1990, releasing their debut album in 1993. But an extended hiatus meant they only returned to life back in 2015. Tales of Madness being their third offering since their rebirth.

It takes precisely zero seconds to introduce your ears to that unmistakable tone. Opening track Tales from the Dark Side wastes no time in hitting straight into the old school death metal. Brutal Mights continues brandishing the aforementioned buzzsaw. Rinse and repeat for the next couple of tracks too. There isn’t a huge amount of variation, but that’s not really the point, and it doesn’t get boring. The Grave brings about the groove and is the best track on the album for me.

Things slow down for the intro to Lavatory Suicide Remains, but soon burst into life for more filth. It has a different feel to the first few songs, adding enough variation to keep things interesting. Save Your Last Breath to Scream and Tales of Madness continue the onslaught. The Fleshly Existence of Man ends the album with a mid tempo slugfest. I think the only real criticism I would mention throughout the album is that the drumming, whilst focussed and tight, is kind of anonymous. Doesn’t really have much of an identity or a chance to stand out.

This album won’t win any awards for breaking the mould. Won’t keep up with the djenty fellows of modern metal. But to think that is missing the value in a down to earth, disgustingly rotten slab of death metal straight from a time when the only question was “Blur or Oasis?”. Forget 2020, listen to this album, and remember what it was like back in the before times.

Check out the best metal songs of 2020 where Wombbath make an appearance. If Spotify is your streaming platform of choice please give the playlist a like.

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