The experimental insight into Metal genres is a need to be fulfilled by those with courage. And to play something that is inside of the heart is a merit of those who want to stay away from cloning others and want to be heard. But experiences must be taken to a point that’s not so hard to the fans to understand what a band is up to, and on some works, things come to extremes, as in the case of the UK based duet TUMANDUUMBAND, as heard on “Throne of Grief”.

They play a form of experimental Sludge/Doom Metal that can be unbearable even to the fans of the genre for many different reasons (and none of them is linked to musical filth). Mainly instrumental and bases solely on bass guitar and drums (with some vocals appearing here and there), the band’s music is really hard to understand to the fans used to more conventional forms of music. It’s a form of music that isn’t hard for those who are into Avant-garde metal albums as “Written in Waters” or Black Metal works as “Scarlet Evil Witching Black”.

The duet worked with Zegaphon on studio, who took care of the production, sound engineering and mixing, with the mastering being done by Marvin at Tide Studios. As a Sludge Metal band, the sonority is really putrid (for those addicted in filthy, it will be a delight), with things being heavy and distorted, but not extremely hard to be understood.

The songs of “Throne of Grief” demands a lot of the hearers to be deeply understood, and maybe songs as “Throne of Grief” (a sinister and noisy song with many effects and ambiences, from filthy Sludge Metal parts and introspective moments), “Black Ritual of the 25th Moon” (a 6 minutes song with hypnotic parts and oppressive moments), “Each Birth, a New Disaster” (another brutal and slow song with nasty roughness filling the ambiences), and “Dread Lord”. Again: their music is mainly instrumental, but some vocals can be heard piercing the darkness in many points.

“Throne of Grief” isn’t simple to be heard and understood, especially for those that aren’t into Sludge Metal (and maybe for the greater part of the fans of the genre as well), but’s very good to hear a band as TUMANDUUMBAND trying to use a more personal work.