Release Date: July 14th 2026. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: CD/DD/Tape
Dying To Live - Tracklist
1. The Summoning (3:47)
2. Cythraul (10:00)
3. Beware (6:53)
4. Mountain Hag (9:42)
5. Dying to Live (9:35)
Members
Alice Gawlinski - Vocals
Chance Gawlinski - Guitar
Alton Minor - Bass
Mike Benitez - Percussion
Review
Dying To Live is the debut album from Gothic/Doom/Stoner Rockers Mothertomb who blend sultry Occult Rock tones with a gritty Appalachian flavour being added into their music. There’s an essence of Grunge, Psych and Shoegaze which gives Mothertomb quite a contemporary and heavy rock sound which is why you can see the comparisons to bands such as Acid King and Windhand have been made recently but that only tells half the story. As the album unfolds in great storytelling fashion with haunting melodies, spooky Psychedelic grooves and Ambient Post-Rock structures that are quite emotionally daring when Mothertomb fully take flight within the aggressive Doom/Stoner Metal persona.
The record does start off in quite understated fashion with the excellent opening track The Summoning which mixes Drone Rock passages and the exquisite vocals/chants of lead vocalist Alice Gawlinski. Alice’s vocals may feel quite restrained at first but wait until you experience the rest of the album as Alice can really sing. The music is quite restrictive but that’s too get the listener into the Gothic and Occult Rock vibe the album takes you upon.
Second track Cythraul transforms slightly to a Proto-Metal delivery which allows Mothertomb fully move over to the modern day Doom/Stoner Metal arena with thumping sludgy guitars creating a Post-Doom vortex for those massive stadium sized riffs to appear. Alice’s vocals are the biggest change when some brutal harsh screams come out of nowhere. Where’s the calm, reserved and measured vocals from the early stages of the record. Just be prepared for a symphony of different Doomed Out movements that each have their own emotionally charged style of intense musical passages with Mothertomb wisely tapping into some classic Eighties Gothic Metal delivery. However, the band still finds the time to transport the listener back to the modern day era of melodic Doom/Stoner Metal.
Dying To Live is quite a progressive album with the majority of the tracks running between seven to ten minutes in length. There’s a lot to take in with this record especially on tracks such as Cythraul, Mountain Hag and Dying To Live. There’s riffs galore here with Mothertomb superbly moving from slow played atmospheric sounds to a faster and heavier style of Psych Stoner Metal with flashes of some grounded spirituality appearing within the lyrics.
Mothertomb are quite vivid with how they blend groove orientated metal against the classic strands of Gothic Rock, Occult Rock, Proto-Metal and good old fashioned Hard Rock whilst opening the door to other modern based themes.
My favourite track has to be Mountain Hag which I reviewed earlier this year and I’m going to include a brief passage from that review. Yeah, it might be lazy but I’m still happy how I described that track back then.
“Mountain Hag is nothing short of a revelation with Mothertomb continuing their progression in perhaps becoming one of the best upcoming acts the underground scene currently needs right now”
I stand by that review and I feel Mothertomb have proven that point I’ve made completely with Dying To Live which combines classic levels of intense storytelling with superb forward thinking Doom/Stoner Metal music that will leave you emotionally drained and even fully refreshed after listening to the whole album.
With WINDHAND taking an absolute age releasing their next album then MOTHERTOMB are here to satisfy that craving but bringing their own unique take to the party and perhaps opening the door to a highly rewarding career that will no doubt stretch past the far reaches of the heavy underground scene. Dying To Live is an absolute delightfully heavy and thrilling record that will become one of the standout records to own and devour before the year is out.
Words by Steve Howe
Thanks to Good Boy PR for the promo.
Dying To Live is available to buy now on CD/DD/Tape.
Links
Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram | DistroKid
