NUCLEAR TOMB - Terror Labyrinthian (Review)

Written by: The Administrator

We slumbering scribes are nothing if not considerate. In that spirit, here's a relevant public service announcement: if you choose to fire up Terror Labyrinthian, the debut album from Baltimore's Nuclear Tomb, please know that you are willingly subjecting yourself to an undiluted sonic onslaught. Real face-melting stuff. Prodding and squirmy and barbed and apocalyptic and absolutely ripping.

Representing a particularly weird and wild variant of death-oriented thrash, Nuclear Tomb have perfected a brand of chaos that appears, at first blush, quite unhinged. In reality, their approach is as calculated as it is contorted. In a case of promo material feeling exceptionally accurate, Nuclear Tomb do indeed skillfully integrate an old-school blistering aggression à la Sadus alongside a more punky off-kilter Voivodian approach to dynamics. That's a win/win combination in my book.

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Never content to dig in and sit on its laurels, the guitar continuously  jabs with dangerous abandon, like a literal swarm of...what's more immediately dangerous than wasps? Sentient bullets? Yeah, that'll do. When not directly on the attack, it often seems like individual riffs are anxious and squirming, actively seeking to escape the confines of the tracks themselves. As such, nothing here feels stock, and the riffs never stick around for longer than they need to. When a similar motif returns, it is always in direct service of the songwriting--in other words, it never feels like a particular idea re-enters service simply because Nuclear Tomb have run out of innovative ways to keep the track moving. Meanwhile, the drums pummel without a uniquely sharp yet chaotic aggression; suppressing fire that seems intent on avoiding an exploitable pattern.

Even during the moments where things slow down--see the breakdown on lead single/title track "Terror Labyrinthian"--the frenzied mentality abides, lurking and ready to erupt once more. The second single, the comparatively brisker "Fatal Vision," opens with a jittery riff, and somehow maintains that scrambling and agile energy across the entire track. There's a caffeinated chaos that recalls the freneticism of Killing Technology era Voivod, albeit cranked up to what feels like the zenith of that particular weirdo sound. In contrast, "Dominance" slows things down, giving space to a surprisingly heartfelt solo and moment of respite before headbutting back into the fray on "Vile Humanity," which operates on the basis of a 1,500-horsepower gallop. Later, "Born Into Torment" is significantly more mid-paced and even moves in a direction not far from languid. Here, the change of pace is once again a nice break, especially as the album draws to a close. The whole affair runs just over half an hour, which was a smart choice. This album demonstrates a well-defined absence of filler. All killer. Etcetera, ​etcetera.

With Terror Labyrinthian, your mileage will inevitably vary depending on your tolerance for deaththrashy stuff--and by mileage, I'm referring to how far you'll get into this album before feeling overwhelmed and in need of a breather. Personally, I'm firmly of the mind that there is more than enough variation in the tempo and arrangements throughout to shake things up, but if someone admitted to tiring in the album's back half due to the sheer maintenance of hyperactivity, I wouldn't be surprised. Just disappointed. But! We're not speaking to that audience. If you've lasted this long, it's because you find a certain thrill in experiential excess.

Terror Labyrinthian is a very strong debut, and demonstrates that Nuclear Tomb should immediately be viewed as a force to be reckoned with in their admittedly niche space. A good death thrash album is always a welcome addition to my collection, and the weirder it is, the better. I'd love to catch them performing this album live--as dynamic and energetic as it sounds whilst I listen in my lonely scriptorium, Terror Labyrinthian feels built for the pit. But until that time, I'll happy work up my own sweat. I definitely recommend checking this one out.

Nuclear Tomb - Terror Labyrinthian will be released April 19th, 2024 via Everlasting Spew Records. Find it here!

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