Album Review: Tumanduumband – Throne of Grief (Cursed Monk Records)

Tumanduumband are an ultra-heavy occult doom duo, hailing from the darkest depths of the West Midlands, UK. Their debut album ‘Throne of Grief’ will be released on October 27th, 2023, via Cursed Monk Records.

Good-f**king-grief. This is heavy, and if that’s not enough, it is also super-sinister and emphatically miserable. Tumanduumband have arrived from the deepest and darkest recesses of the void, and they are here to collect souls to bring back with them.

Layering their monumentally intense doom with ominous occult vibes, Tumanduumband set an extremely high bar for themselves with Crushed Under Unfathomable Misery. The suffocating cloud of doom spreads quickly, saturated with a rawness that makes the sound so much more intense. If you find this track too much, no-one will blame you, this music isn’t for the faint of heart. Get out now, while you still can, while your soul remains intact.

If you do decide to listen on, and you should, it’s too late. Tumanduumband have you now and their wickedness knows no bounds. The title track isn’t any easier on the ears, any subtly serves to make the heavier moments all the more fanatical sounding. Madness oozes from the pores of this track, and no-one is coming away without a few mental scars after hearing it.

Scars that just keep on coming as the occultism gets broader and more taxing with Black Ritual of the 25th Moon, and Each Birth, A New Disaster. Both tracks feature these horrific sounding industrialised squeals, but it’s the latter’s descent into the molasses-covered doom that really stands out.

The darkness only gets thicker in the second half of the album, if such a thing is possible to fathom, with the soul frozen solid by the intensity of Landscape of Fear. Before Bizarre Tomb lives up the first part of its name, Tumanduumband continuing to showcase creative chaos that is as off-putting as it is captivating. Love it or loathe it, it is unquestionably fascinating.

With a little bit of desensitisation setting in, the horror panache of Dread Lord is near mind-numbing in its approach to abrasiveness and heaviness. There is no doubt that if you’ve made it this far, you’re all in and more then happy to join Tumanduumband in the darkness of the void. No amount of teeth-aching, mind-bending, bone-crushing, and soul-slaying noise will change that, regardless of how twisted the finale of Colder Than Death is.

Tumanduumband – Throne of Grief Track Listing:

1. Crushed Under Unfathomable Misery
2. Throne of Grief
3. Black Ritual of the 25th Moon
4. Each Birth, A New Disaster
5. Landscape of Fear
6. Bizarre Tomb
7. Dread Lord
8. Colder Than Death

Links

Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram | Cursed Monk Records