Sumerian Tombs/Age Of Eternal Night/Van Records/2025 Full Length Review

 

  Sumerian  Tombs  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  has  had  music  reviewed  before  in  this  zine  and  on  this  recording  goes  for  an  old  school,  epic,  atmospheric  and  vampiric  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2025  album  "Age  of  Eternal  Night"  which  will b e  released  in  April  by  Van  Records.

  A  synth  orientated  intro  starts  off  the  album  before  going  into  more  of  a  heavier  and  melodic  direction.  When  the  music  speeds  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  be  heard  which  also  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  raw  feeling  while  the  recording  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  era.

  Vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  some  of  the  tracks  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  clean  playing.

  At  times  the  music  also  gets  very  atmospheric  sounding  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  also  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  when  they  are  utilized.  A  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length  as  well  as  some  ethnic  style  instruments  and  female  vocals  also  being  used  briefly,  a  couple  of  songs  also  adds  in  a  small  amount  of  clear  male  vocals  and  synths  also  make  a  return  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Sumerian/Mesopotamian  Mythology  and  Vampirism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  album  from  Sumerian  Tombs  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  atmospheric,,  epic,  old  school  and  vampiric  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Edimmu  Rising"  "Epitaph  In  Blood"  "Age  Of  Eternal  Night"  and  "The  Offering".  8/5  out  of  10.

  Contact: info@sumeriantombs.com

Instagram:  @sumeriantombs

Facebook:  /SumerianTombs        

Sumerian Tombs Interview

 

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

The band was originally planned as a solo project, which I started in 2019 without any ambition. In the course of the development of the songs also developed a collaboration with W on vocals, because he fit better from the voice color to the songs. From there it was only a small step to look for a full line-up.

2.So far you have released a demo and have a full length coming out in March, musically how do they both differ from each other?

Lyrically, the demo is the prequel to the album itself. For those who read lyrics, this will be a pretty smooth transition. Therefore we tried to keep the demo more on the “raw” side and expand upon this with the album. Since the demo still had Astrega helping out on drums, the songs here are much more orthodox than those on the album. With D on drums we were able to create a much greater variability in the songs, which is not to minimize Astrega's playing on the demo, because that fit like a glove. 

 3.You also refer to your music as being 'vampyric black metal', can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in Vampirism?

First of all, we don't see ourselves thematically with bands like Cradle Of Filth or Ancient, as much as we like various works of the bands….partly at least.

Vampires or evil bloodsucking spirits are/were always a manifestation of fear and terror in human history since ancient times. The fascination here is the combination of the demonic and the human. Be it the Greek Lamien to the modern vampire myths as we know them today. With the Ekimmu or Edimmus from Mesopotamia, a first reference to the development of the modern vampire is found.

Lyrically, it is mainly about the power of blood associated with vampirism, channeled through rituals

4.The bands name and a lot of the lyrics deal with Sumerian themes, can you tell us a little bit more about which aspects of the Sumerian culture and mythology you cover with your lyrics?

We do not see ourselves as archaeologists telling a historical story but rather as modern fictional folklorists. The Sumerian history and religious mythology offers us a possibility. It should sound as authentic as a folklore, but also offer the fascination of a fiction.

5.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?

The cover shows a pilgrim entering an ancient Sumerian Tomb - or Ziggurat if you will. These ruins represent a central aspect of the journey: Here lie the remains of the ancient blood gods, which were treated in the lyrics of the demos. What will the pilgrim find? The artwork basically sets the scene of the whole album. You can even hear the steps of the pilgrim as he enters the tomb in the intro track.

6.Has the band done any live shows or open to the idea?

There have been no live shows yet. The reasons for this should be clear to everyone. However, we have a first show in Berlin in December 2022 at the De Mortem Et Diablous in prospect. A real honor, if you look at the fantastic line-up. 2023 will then hopefully offer more opportunities.

7.So far the band has worked with Helhallen' and 'Van Records', do you feel these 2 labels have been very helpful when it comes to getting your music out there heard?

We consider both labels as our partners in crime. Without both labels Sumerian Tombs would not exist in its current form. Both labels keep our backs free for our creativity. What more can you expect.

8.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black metal?

The reactions so far have been good to very good. In such an oversaturated market as the metal scene is and with very many and exciting releases, especially in black metal, this is more than you can expect. But we are also strongly convinced of our music and want it to be heard.

9.Are any of the band members currently involved with any other bands or musical projects these days?

First of all, we wanted to keep this project anonymous as long as possible. This should make it possible to listen to the music without any expectations and we also wanted to try to make a name without the typical name dropping.

This attempt of anonymity can clearly be considered as a failure. On Metal Archives baseless connections were made, which only lead to confusion. So let's start to unravel the whole thing:

D plays drums with and also with Beltez and Damage Source. I myself am guitarist with Beltez. M as our guitarist is also a drummer from the Aachen Black Metal band Ius Talionis. C plays bass with us as well as with the horror punk band Hellgreaser and the death metal band SKUM. Last but not least W is the vocalist of this band as we as for the death metal band VALKYR.

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

We have written three new songs so far. Of course, these represent a further development but in essence this is just a focusing of the style.

 11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Black metal, death metal, punk and any kind of dark music. That should be the consensus among all. There are various bands that have influenced us musically, but to name them all here I think is not purposeful.

Counter question, what do you think, which influences we could have, if you listen to our music?

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have an final words or thoughts?  

Thanks for the opportunity to briefly introduce ourselves.

www.facebook.com/SumerianTombs

http://www.sumeriantombs.bandcamp.com

Sumerian Tombs/Self Titled/Van Records/2022 CD Review

 

  Sumerian  Tombs  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  an  epic  and  furious  style  of  vampyric  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  titled  2022  album  which  will  be  released  in  March  by  Van  Records.

  Horror  movie  style  keyboards  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  very  fast  and  raw  musical  style  which  also  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats.  Melodies  are  also added  into  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  and  the  vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams.

  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  the  music  also  adds  in  a  decent  mixture  of  both  old  school  and  modern  influences.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  music  also  has  its  atmospheric  moments.

  Growls  can  also  be  heard  in  some  parts  of  the  recording  along  with  a  great  portion  of  the  tracks  also  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  as  well  as  some  melodic  vocals  and  chants  also  being  utilized  briefly,  the  album  also  adds  in  some  quest  vocals  from  members  of  Endstille  and  The  Crimson  Ghosts  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  can  also  be  heard.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  the  ancient,  long-forgotten  tale  of  vampiric  wind  spirits  from  Sumerian  mythology.

  In  my  opinion  Sumerian  Tombs  are  a  very  great  sounding  epic  and  furious  vampyric  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Enter  The Netherrealm"  "Altars  Of  The  Past"  and  "Vampyric  Dominance".  8/5  out  of  10.

www.facebook.com/SumerianTombs

http://www.sumeriantombs.bandcamp.com