Ton – Bow Down To Extinction – Album Review

Source // Ton

With their first album in 16 years, Ton deliver a 90’s style deathly thrashing (no surprise considering this trio have been around since their first demo in 1993) combining the legendary groove of Obituary and Cannibal Corpse with a technical tenacity that barrels through enough sledgehammer rhythmic changes to have even Suffocation feeling inferior.

Technical but not overly indulgent and dripping with a raw old-school meaty malevolence, Ton’s intricate form of  brutal death metal – a terrifying tornado of swirling, smashing percussion and attention-defecit guitar leads and riffs – should appeal to lovers of Immolation and Dying Fetus while still providing enough lumpen grind to keep the die-hards grinning.

From the restless nature of “Condemnation” to the Atheist-esque jazzy stylings of “Propaganda Machine” – a formidable display that still finds time to drive a fearsome groove into the very pit of your stomach – the primal death metal thrills unveiled throughout are expertly counterbalanced by an insane, and frankly incalculable, number of irregular rhythmic patterns. It’s this ability to maintain songwriting craft amidst the assailing drive of their technical prowess that helps to elevate Ton above the majority of their peers (and let’s face it, this is an overcrowded scene), making Bow Down To Extinction a juggernaut of a record that should register highly with those enamoured by tech deaths endlessly inventive aural caning.

In conclusion, Bow Down To Extinction is chaotic yet coherent and the head-spinning ramifications of listening to it in one sitting are not to be taken lightly. There’s simply no let-up and no quarter given, just 8 tracks of punishing technical Death Metal delivered with immeasurable crushing power. Ton? Make that a megaton!  7/10