Another interesting newcomer in the Black Metal abyss is German horde SUMERIAN TOMBS from Cologne. After two demos in 2021 and 2022 they caught the attention of Ván Records and the result is their first self-titled full-length. After an organ intro the guys already show the huge potential they have to offer. ‘Bloodspells Of The Ancient’ is high class Black Metal. The sound is raw but not like DARKTHRONE, more like a raw and fast version of MGLA and closer to outfits like ENDSTILLE, but with a Post Black Metal painting as the sound is pretty depressed and the created soundscape is a brilliant merger between raw and melodic sounds. The instrumentation and songwriting is so matured and full of details that it is hard to believe the guys are not active for years already. Apart from the brilliant drumming, I also really dig the audible bass-lines here. ‘Light Of Death’ starts slowly, but immediately abducts the listener into a hellish world full of pain and somehow a kind of Doom Metal appears. ‘Tomb Lurker’ also starts slow but intense and also gets varied but distored guitars and sounds before the thunderstorm at the end destroy all forms of life. Once again I need to mention the intense songwriting, with all its small details, full of love for their music. It’s been a while that a debut convinced me that much. The brilliant songwriting, combined with variations in tempo, sound, vocal work and instrumentation, definitely breathes some fresh air into the ever growing Black Metal genre. With ‘Vampyric Dominance’ they really have a wrecking ball as conclusion for their debut. Freezing melodies and definitely good vocals again embedded into a Post Black Metal atmosphere. Those of you who will buy the CD version, limited to 500 copies, will also get a second CD as bonus with the analog 8-track recording of the album. Nice extra feature, as this version sounds rawer, but also pretty interesting, so thumbs up to Ván Records for offering again real value for money. All Black Metal lunatics should check this fine output out and hopefully this was just the beginning of SUMERIAN TOMBS. www.facebook.com/sumeriantombs, www.facebook.com/vanrecords