Denver, CO’s GLACIAL TOMB has today announced September North American headline tour dates, as well as support slots alongside the likes of Deicide and Rivers of Nihil, in support of their forthcoming sophomore album, Lightless Expanse, on September 20. Full dates and details available below.
LISTEN TO GLACIAL TOMB’S NEW SINGLE ABYSSAL HOST
via Apple Music, TIDAL, Deezer, Bandcamp and Spotify.
Pre-order Lightless Expanse here.
Speaking on the tour announcement, GLACIAL TOMB vocalist / guitarist Ben Hutcherson comments: “This fall we’ll return to the East Coast and Midwest for the first time in nearly six years in support of our new album, Lightless Expanse. We will debut several songs from the record at these shows, including Abyssal Host and Stygian Abattoir. Join us.”
Invigorated by new bass player David Small’s presence, the group meticulously crafted Lightless Expanse throughout 2021 and 2022. Founding members Ben Hutcherson and Michael Salazar (drums) embraced the new dynamic and fresh musical perspective Small brought to the band, with Hutcherson and Small’s work together in Khemmis no doubt fueling their creative alchemy.
The resulting album is an unflinching examination of the horrors of existence, captured with authenticity and meticulous attention to detail. The songs were produced and engineered by Hutcherson, with drums recorded at The Band Cave in Denver and everything else tracked at his home studio. In an era of hyper-quantized, soulless extreme music that prioritises perfection above all else, the trio rehearsed relentlessly throughout 2022 before they began tracking in Spring 2023. They enlisted the renowned mixing and mastering skills of Arthur Rizk to realise their collective vision for this record.
The narrative arc that runs through the nine blistering tracks juxtaposes everyday suffering with nigh-ineffable cosmic horror; mental illness, grief, social isolation, and a longing for meaning all take the form of celestial beings and deific machinations. Hutcherson’s lyrics are inspired by writers such as Thomas Ligotti, Philipp Mainländer, Peter Wessel Zapffe, and Alan Watts.
These bleak themes are wrapped up in a bruising package of dissonant death metal intensity, shot through with a flourish of black metal grandiosity. Whilst the aforementioned dedication to arranging things ‘just so’ gives a technical and cerebral edge to their sound, the choruses are laden with soaring melodic hooks, satisfying the most riff-hungry amongst us. GLACIAL TOMB refuses to fit neatly within the parameters of any one genre, and their sound is all the richer for it. Lightless Expanse is a multi-layered exploration of heavy metal in all its complex and cathartic glory.
GLACIAL TOMB tour dates:
September 14 – Black Circle (Heavy Hell) – Indianapolis, IN
September 15 – Al’s Bar – Lexington, KY
September 16 – Sanctuary – Detroit, MI (w/ Deicide, Krisiun, Inferi, Cloak)
September 17 – Kung Fu Necktie – Philadelphia, PA
September 18 – Woodshop – Brooklyn, NY
September 19 – Venue – Albany, NY
(New England Metal and Hardcore Fest pre-party w/ Rivers of Nihil)
September 20 – Piranha Bar – Montreal, QC
September 21 – New England Metal and Hardcore Fest – Palladium – Worcester, MA
September 23 – Preserving Underground – Pittsburgh, PA
September 24 – Magoo’s – Bedford Park , IL
September 25 – White Rock Lounge – St. Paul, MN