TOOM – Behold the Basilisk
Release Date: 1st October 2021
Label: APF Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Sludge, Noise, Stoner, Doom.
FFO: High on Fire, EYEHATEGOD, Mastodon, Sleep, Integrity.
Review By: Rich Sutcliffe
TOOM, a 3-piece from Suffolk, England bring the assault with Behold the Basilisk, which was recorded back in 2010 and is now finally seeing the light of day, thanks to APF Records. Formed in 2007, TOOM, according to their bio, wanted to “avoid drowning in the sea of mediocre-metalcore and emo-misery that surrounded them”. Listing Sleep, Mastodon, Acid King, and Black Sabbath as some of their influences however, perhaps they were unknowingly drowning in a different sea altogether, since every band at that time was trying to mimic that sound. Toward the end of their short 3-year span, they managed to record this 4 song EP in one night which clocks in at a little over 21 minutes.
Snake Chalmers starts things off with a short angelic sounding atmospheric instrumental, with sounds akin to Deafheaven and Russian Circles. A perfect calm before the storm that is next to come.
There’s Nothing Cute About Cobras is quite the contrast from the first track. Far from pretty, this is brutal. High on Fire brutality done well and without sounding like a blatant copy. Some parts also remind me of early Mastodon. The bridge/solo has some fantastic harmonizing tones through the sludgy bass and fuzz laden guitar. This drummer must go through a bunch of heads and sticks. You can tell by the dynamics in his playing that he hits hard and does a great job in keeping it together without sounding sloppy. The vocals, to be honest may take some getting used to if you are not a fan of hardcore. Some may find that cobras are indeed cute, but there’s nothing cute about the singing and is styled exactly like Dwid from Integrity. In your face with no mercy.
Mandark is next and I believe is the weakest song on the EP. Somewhat repetitious and monotone throughout. Clearly styled after Dragonaut by Sleep, TOOM could have done better vocally rather than shout the same one syllable monotone notes repeatedly. This is the longest song on the EP at 7:23 and more substance would have been an improvement for this length of a listen. It is not a bad song; it is played very well. It could have had a little more variety to make it more enjoyable.
Decapodiformes is the final track, and it is by far the best. This is where TOOM get creative, put their influences aside and write a song with their own style and creativity. Decapodiformes is a superorder of Cephalopoda, which includes all species with ten limbs. This song is no different. It branches out with various riffs throughout. Some hard, some groovy and all killer. The best thing about this song is that it sounds like no one except for TOOM. Unfortunately, other than the intro track, this is the shortest song on the EP when I did not want it to end.
I am not sure why TOOM were only around for 3 years. Perhaps they got lost in the shuffle amongst countless others that were playing this style 11 years ago. I consider it a shame because they had something original going for them with Decapodiformes. I also find it a shame that it took 11 years for this to be released. Who knows what the future would have held for them if it were released then? While some of this is not original, it still sounds amazing with incredible production and mixing. The members all bring their A-game on this. Behold the Basilisk has held up well after all this time. Kudos to APF Records for releasing this, these 3 guys deserve it.
(4 / 5)
