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SUMMONING DEATH
Tombs Of The Blind Dead

Chaos (2024)
Rating: 7/10

The 1972 Spanish-Portuguese zombie horror movie Tombs Of The Blind Dead (with a plot that concerns the hooded Knights Templar rising from the soil to wreak havoc upon a local community) has been a big favourite of mine for years so it’s always nice to see nods of appreciation towards it. In this case it’s the third full-length album from Mexican horror freaks Summoning Death.

Four years after their second opus One Step Beyond, the quintet of Abigail Paz (vocals), Ricardo Gil (guitar), Sergio Àlvarez (guitar), Grey Arceo (bass) and Iván Herrera (drums) bring more tales inspired by midnight movies. The likes of ‘The Outing’, ‘Sleepaway Camp’, ‘Humongous’ and ‘Intruder’ are not only horror movie gems you should check out, but also a selection of gory musical chunks for your taste buds to salivate over.

Summoning Death play a furious style of death metal; ravenous at its heart the band rages like a foaming mix of Entrails and Bloodbath to bring their stories to life. However, there’s more to this band than meets the eye. At times, Summoning Death offer doom, thrash and, with ‘Humongous’, something melodic. In fact, too melodic, but it does add an air of the unpredictable to the album as the combo finds comforting clarity with the styles they choose, all led by the hungry gasps of Paz.

I wouldn’t say that this mob is particularly old school in design, but there are a few nostalgic lashings from the late 90s and early 00s, not that I really consider these areas “vintage”. Even so, there are some truly aggressive slabs on offer here. The title cut stands out for its vigour and vim, and then there is the steady, Swedish-styled grind of ‘Sleepaway Camp’, the thrashing blasts of ‘Viy’ and the guttural chainsaw carnage of ‘Killer Party’.

It does still baffle me as to why the exhausted Swedish sound continues to be so popular among bands outside of the country, but Summoning Death do provide enough exercises in tumultuous terror to hold your attention.

Neil Arnold

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