Life is hell, or at least it is more often than not in a lot of cases, and continually going through that is a grind that can eat away at your will to just get up in the morning. That sounds like a bummer of a way to begin a week, admittedly, but it can be productive to realize these things to get a handle on the blackness.

“Lightless Expanse” is the second full-length record from Colorado crushers Glacial Tomb, and at its center are these themes of life being a goddamn slog, and these struggles are brought to life through a story that dresses agony with cosmic horror. This record also is a step up in intensity and heaviness for this band—vocalist/guitarist Ben Hutcherson, bassist David Small, drummer Mike Salazar—two of whom are a part of traditional metal slayers Khemmis. There’s an urgency and devastation to these songs, and it’s easy to feel the torment, grief, and isolation that construct each section of this record.

“Stygian Abattoir” churns in noise before the lid is torn off, riffs sizzling as the shrieks punish. The leads go off as the playing swaggers, feeling a bit like classic Black Dahlia Murder before coming to a vicious end. “Voidwomb” is sludgy and fiery, thick howls bruising as the riffs sicken. Things take a mechanical turn, grinding you in the gears, and then slow, sludgy power emits electricity, classic-style guitars leaving you in the dust. “Enshrined in Concrete” is piledriving and animalistic, crunching with savage war lust as the sinewy muscle goes cold. Elegant leads stretch and gasp heat as shrieks rip, things coming to a devastating end. “Abyssal Host” is fiery and brutal, screams rippling through the air, the playing battering and blackening eyes. A doomy haze settles, suffocating and bleeding away in a sonic haze.

“Sanctuary” stabs and crushes, guitars fluttering and stinging, muddy horrors oozing out of every crease. Growls hammer before turning to flattening shrieks, the carnage rampaging to the end. “Seraphic Mutilation” slays, squeezing with force, shrieks slashing at limbs, veins suddenly clogged with tar. Leads simmer as a thick murk envelopes, atmospheric pressure increasing the heat and slipping into “Worldsflesh” that mauls with reckless abandon. The pace feels swollen and mighty, guitars taking flight, the bass driving into surprisingly progressive waters before the final blows rain down. “Wound of Existence” is impossibly thick, grooves making the playing sink in its teeth, down-tuned morbidity choking with force. Screams tear away as swollen hell emerges, humidity surging and wilting flesh. The closing title track chugs as vicious screams rub salt into wounds, vile horror spreading as the brutality multiplies. Demonic cries lay waste as the leads glimmer, and the final shots ricochet into the distance.

The bleak, uneasy themes that mark “Lightless Expanse” get morbid life with the thunderous death and black metal Glacial Tomb have perfected and drizzled all over these songs. It’s a different manner in which to visit such darkness, themes we all have grown to know a little too intimately. It makes this record both exciting and dangerously reflective, a ride that might cause bumps and bruises though it’s a physical jolt to experience.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/glacialtomb

To buy the album, go here: https://shop.prostheticrecords.com/products/glacial-tomb-lightless-expanse

For more on the label, go here: https://prostheticrecords.com/