Vice Interview: Tombs

Tombs Are Dead Scary

Tombs can be pretty scary places. They are basically little pockets of times past. Sealed, buried nuggets of yesterday preserved forevermore. Kinda creepy if you think about it. Which is probably why pretty much every cheap, shlock filled band ever has at some point or other relied on a coffin, skeleton, mummy, headstone or gravedigger to give their act some oomph. Come on, The Misfits rule and everything but even they looked a little silly if you were any older than lets say hmm…4?

Anyhow, this band may be called Tombs but they skip the whole Adams Family schtick and go in for terrifying with brutal, uncompromising riffs that sound like they might want to batter your skull in with a rusty nail and then drink the gloopy matter that runs out of your cracked cranium. In fact they could be singing about just that for all I know ‘cos I can’t make out a single word the singer guy is howling.

VICE: You are all of a certain vintage. Could you run us through the annals of Tombs history?
Mike Hill (guitar): Carson was working at a restaurant down the street from where I live in Brooklyn. One day I was wearing an Eyehategod shirt when I went in there and we started talking about music and how weak Williamsburg is and that was it. Eyehategod is the root of our history: the foot of the Tombs family tree.

Aside from Eyehategod what other stuff are you into?
Mike: David Lynch films, vintage firearms, suffering, darkness and winter.
Justin Ennis (Drums): The constant need to escape from reality.

Ohkay. In ancient Rome if a Vestal Virgin popped her cherry she would be buried alive in a tomb. How would you guys hate to go?
Mike: Being torn apart by wolves or having your heart cut out with a stone knife Those two would definitely suck.
Carson Daniel James (Bass): Anything where you are still alive is going to suck really isn’t it? Buried alive, burned alive, eaten alive. None of those would be fun.
Justin: I am not into old age full stop.

Who would you guys like to see end up in a tomb?
Mike: This guy that lives in my neighborhood that I see everywhere. He has a moustache and wears all of these old school metal patches on his denim jacket but he is a total fake.
Carson: Matt Grierson. Mark my words motherfucker, if you're reading this you’re already dead.

You get to kill anyone ever including Hitler, Pol Pot and the guy that remade the Wickerman and you go for some guy only you know?
Justin: OK, George Bush and anyone that voted for him?

Pretty standard but I’ll take it.

Frankenjams

Tombs self titled debut album is available now on Black Box Recordings.

Myspace.com/tombsbklyn