T.O.M.B. Weaponize Industrial Black Noise on 'Fury Nocturnus'

​The Devil truly is in the details on the new album from T.O.M.B. The Pennsylvania-based trio has long operated in the shadows, emerging upon occasion to terrorize live audiences or release recordings of their signature harrowing black noise, but they've upped the stakes on their latest album. Fury Nocturnus marks the band's Peaceville debut, and to celebrate the new partnership, they truly have pulled out all the stops. The album features collaborative work from Myahem drummer Hellhammer, Gorephobia guitarist John Litchko, and Grant Richardson of Gnawed, as well as a damned litany of very specific field recordings.

For this album, the core trio— No-One (vocals, percussion, soundscapes), B. Zimimay (harsh power noise electronics), and Samantha Viola (guitars)—intentionally sought out bad vibes. They traveled to abandoned insane asylums, cemeteries,  Mayhem founder Euronymous's grave site, and the infamous basement in Oslo, Norway to record using crypt doors, tomb stones, human and animal bones. The resulting 13 audio concoctions wholly reflect those malevolent atmospheres through the prism of T.O.M.B.'s signature murky, industrialized black metal-cum-ambient noise machinations.

Their sound is in league with Abruptum's anti-music, Stalaggh's abject horror, and Havohej's black vomit. The purpose is to intimidate and unsettle, to unmoor their listeners from anything familiar or reassuring and set them adrift into a pulsating void of occult mechanical energy.  The electronic manipulations on Fury Nocturnus​ hammer and scream, the sounds twisting ghoulishly like a pit of snakes. When the hoarse, monotone vocals do kick in, they offer no respite, just more punishment. There is no solace here, no pretty ambient interludes or quiet acoustic moments. There is only aural decay, and total death.

As band ringleader No-One explained, the intent with Fury Nocturnus was, "To create an album that not only acknowledges the project's authentic approach and past accomplishments in reference to black noise, but also signifies a new era in our expression of sonic musical sorcery that is hypnotic, horrifying and heavy to the listener's senses and spirit."​

Take a listen below to find out if they pulled it off (spoiler: they did).

Kim Kelly is haunted on Twitter​.