WREKTOMB is a death/doom metal band from Baltimore, Maryland; “Bovine Mockeries of Human Posturing,” is their debut full-length album. They also released an EP in 2021. “Bovine Mockeries of Human Posturing” is as abrasive and disgusting album, profaned, dark, disturbing and dismal. While it is certainly well within the parameters of death/doom, it does have an undercurrent of black metal, a sort of subtle approach to bringing out an occult vibe. The vocals are a menacing growl that borders on deep gurgles, as if the vocalist is trying to growl while his throat is being cut open. He sounds both terrifying and sick as hell. The tempo is slow to mid paced, the extremity of the music dredged up from brackish waters born out of haunting riffs and melodies. The melodic parts of the album don’t offset any of its moody and harrowing atmosphere but instead highlight the most desperate parts. The result is an album that feels horrific and loaded with trepidation. The album is just five songs so I’m going to say a little about each.

Disturbing sounds of what I think is an animal open up the album in “Gored Into Reality,” as the song settles into a simple but effective doom groove. The rhythm is strong but I wish the double bass was louder in the mix. With that being said, the drums are solid and more than interesting enough to handle the low and slow music. The middle part of the song brings out the band’s brand of melody—-it isn’t bright or vibrant but instead a different shade of gray. I find moments like this to be quite effective in presenting a slightly different flavor of despondency and helping with the structural flow. “Unexpected Counters With Nature,” is slightly more frantic and up tempo than its predecessor in places. But in other ways, such as around the 1:40 mark, the song has a funereal and Gothic atmosphere to it. The song alternates between crunchy riffs and slower, thicker slabs of notes as it goes through the motions like a funeral procession.

Something as singular bleak as this album may not seem like the type that would throw in curveballs but “Quantumcreep” does just that. The keys in the song’s opening moments are a unique contrast to the doom metal and it creates quite the interesting atmosphere. The riffs that arrive afterwards are among the best on the album, almost feels like being stalked by some unseen beast in the darkness. My favorite part is around the 6 minute mark where all the elements come together just moments before several chilling screams ring out from the horror. At this point, it is clear the album is getting more dark and aggressive as it moves along. The last two songs, “Society Supported Psychopaths,” and “This Decay of Me,” take all the elements of the first three songs and amplify them tenfold.

The former grasps the weird and scary melodies with a firm, clawed hand and runs with them. This is, at least to me, the most atmospheric song on the album with a truly unnerving feel to it. The sound bites are a nice touch and add to the uneasy feeling that emanates off the song like waves. The latter is nearly 11 minutes long and builds up like the rising of dead. The tempo slithers along, scraping its decayed body along the cold, hard ground. The music changes in a subtle manner, creeping up like a miasma. The final half features deep riffs, psychotic guitar harmonies and hopeless melodies. All in all WREKTOMB’s “Bovine Mockeries of Human Posturing,” is an impressive and disturbing death/doom album. Fans of metal that like their music truly horrifying will definitely want to check this out.