The Finnish death metal outfit, Ashen Tomb, has recently released their debut self-titled EP on Personal Records. The production is raw without being muddy, which is quite a feat. Laaksonen's vocals are growled and just a tad above guttural. It is easy to see that these Finns know how to construct some quality death metal. After the first listen of this fourteen-minute EP, I was left wanting more. I'm looking forward to listening to future efforts from ASHEN TOMB. The second track, "Graveless Abomination," skips any sort of building introduction and gets right to the point. The riffing reminds me of early SEPULTURA. The vocals are lower in tone than those of Max Cavalera, but the energy is there. After a killer breakdown, the lead guitarist does some tremolo picking. The tremolos here aren't as airy as those used in black metal, but they still sound incredible.

The EP ends with "Bleak Earth That Used To Host The Ignorant Race That Foresaw Its Doom And Did Nothing (Exterminated The Pests That Once Depraved Its Body)." After a speedy intro, ASHEN TOMB plays some excellent death 'n' roll in the tradition of ENTOMBED. This track is deliberately paced without compromising speed and intensity. The lead guitar tone is easy on the ears and the vocals are punishing. This track shows that, while relatively new, ASHEN TOMB knows what they're doing. As I mentioned earlier, this EP left me wanting to hear as much as I can from ASHEN TOMB. Their mastery of several different elements and styles of death metal is to be commended. I was surprised to learn that they have only been active since 2021. If you have fourteen minutes to spare and love well-composed traditional death metal in the same vein as AUTOPSY and INCANTATION, then you owe it to yourself to check out these three tracks.