Oklahoma-based deathcore band Desolate Tomb is a force to be reckoned with with their sophomore release, “Scorned by Misery.” They play a deathcore style faithful to their genre forefathers with plenty of swirling riffs, plodding chugging riffs, machine gun drums and guttural vocals that sound like dying farm animals. The album switches pace often enough to keep the most distractible listener engaged, while retaining a cohesive song structure. The honest lyrics from a God-fearing point-of view fits perfectly with the musical chaos making for an excellent album.
Dakota Whiteside started a solo project in 2016 named Horcrvx off the heals of the disbandment of All Have Sinned. After a couple of singles and an EP, the name changed to Desolate Tomb. In 2019, DT released their debut album, “Cast From God’s Sight,” a concept album based on John Milton’s “Paradise Lost.” In 2021, Vocalist Daniel Gates joined Dakota making it a two-piece band for a time, with the goal of doing live shows. Although I can’t see anything of Daniel in the credits for this release, apparently David McJunkin will be taking over as the new vocalist after this album. Definitely a lot of good energy in the DT camp.
Deathcore is not my go to style, but I can enjoy it in small batches. However, this album transcends my relatively low deathcore stamina. The variety of musical elements sprinkled throughout the album is what first piqued my interest. The album has a pervasive scary, almost horror feel to it driven by these ambient lead guitar licks that create sustaining tension, most notably in “All is Dust” and “Tormented by the Succubus.” There are elements of brutal fast playing like in the opening track “Scorned by Misery,” cool odd rhythms in “The Hands that Mar,” and slower plodding chugging work in “Spitting Nails.” There are a variety of vocals (as well as guest vocalists) where we have standard death, deep guttural, and some higher, near black metal, vocals that keep things interesting. Somewhat nuanced, but I really enjoyed the organic speed up in “Spitting Nails” that I feel is rare in the age of click tracks. Although not typical to the genre, the album has squiggly atonal guitar solos that elevate the opening and closing tracks to pull you in and send you off respectively.
The song construction is so engaging that it just pulls me along. The song writing for the most part follows the typical attention-deficit style that is common with “core” genres, but the jumps from one section to the other make good musical sense. The heavy parts are well executed with lightning fast double bass drums, pounding snares, deep guttural vocals, and swirling riffs to make thrash bands jealous. These get contrasted with equally heavy, but slower plodding and syncopated riffs like last dying heart beats. There is a good number of tasteful short breaks to alleviate from the sheer weight of DT making it easier for me to keep listening.
Beyond just music, there is a palpable depth to the album. It could be the cinematic presentation of the album with recordings interspersed that give a story feel. For example, the use of Native American chanting at the beginning of “Trail of Tears” ties into the concept of the song beautifully. But it is more than just adding in sound bites that make this enjoyable.
Let’s actually start with “Trail of Tears.” For those outside of the USA, its helpful to know this is a reference to the 1830-1850 removal of Native Americans from their homelands in the Southeastern part of the country and placed in and around modern Oklahoma. Here we have a connection with DT. The pain of the injustice is palpable in the vocals and is played out in the plodding, off-kilter riffs as if following these mournful sojourners to the new land. This album takes on some really heavy subjects lyrically such as forgiveness of abusers, state brutality, overcoming lust and final judgment as honest takes from a God-fearing perspective. I can feel the catharsis in every note showing that each song comes from a personal journey.
DT dishes out quality deathcore here with some real lyrical depth. Although it doesn’t break ground for the genre, they perform it well. Or should I say Dakota performs this well. How he can do all of these instruments and get it to sync this well is beyond me. Not only does he do “everything” as far as I can tell, he also does the mixing and mastering, which sounded great to my ears for this style. For fans of deathcore, this is a mandatory release. For all other metal fans that have been curious about deathcore, I highly recommend checking out “Scorned by Misery” by DT.
Rating: 9.0/10
Written by Sean Bailey
Tracklist
1 – Scorned by Misery
2 – The Hands That Mar
3 – Writhing in the Bowels of Hell
4 – All is Dust
5 – Tormented by the Succubus
6 – Sheepskin
7 – Spitting Nails
8 – Yearning Maw of Persecution
9 – Trail of Tears
10 – The Suffering Fields
Desolate Tomb is:
Dakota Whiteside – everything
Daniel Gates – vocals
Guests:
Jaden Pruitt (Skysia)
Matthew Mcnamara
Sam Dishington (Ukryt)
Jon Davenport (Cultist)
Robert Manzone (Searching Serenity, With Blood Comes Cleansing)
Release Date: February 23, 2024
Record Label: Rottweiler Records
Discography:
Cast From God’s Sight (2019)
Scorned By Misery (2024)
Social Media: Facebook | Spotify | Bandcamp
Lyric video for ‘Writhing in the Bowels of Hell’
Video (audio) for ‘Yearning Maw of Persecution’