LISTEN HERE: Tales of the Tomb keeps it real
“David Koresh, the master, the one who would save them all, destined to be a disaster, for he watched the buildings fall. The compound burned down. No one alive was found.”
It’s weird to hear a death metal band be so literal.
Then again, there’s plenty enough real horror in the world – why in the hell would you want to make up more of it?
Edmonton’s Tales of the Tomb has a motto: “We try to represent how reality is scarier than fiction,” according to singer Corey Skerlak.
The top lyric refers to the siege of the Branch Davidians cult near Waco, Texas, in the spring of 1993 (before the members of this band were even born) – which ended in a terrible fire and the deaths of 76 cult members, including 20 children, and leader David Koresh. In shootouts leading up to the fire, other cult members and several law enforcement officers were also killed.
This is one of several real-life topics tackled on Tale of the Tomb’s new concept album, an EP called Volume Two: Mendacium. It’s about conspiracy theories, Skerlak says, which leaves a little more room for fiction than their other work. Other songs deal with the idea of Paul McCartney really being dead, on a rumour of victims being experimented on by unknown entities, or musings on the Waco tragedy and the nagging question, “Who shot first?”
Tales of the Tomb reserves judgement in most horrifying cases, but the emotion – and the anger – comes through loud and clear. Backed by raging guitars and pounding double kick, Skerlak sings in the typical “guttural” style of death metal: As if the Cookie Monster had a very bad day and started eating the children on Sesame Street.
“We wanted to avoid elements of fantasy,” Skerlak says. “It’s known in this genre to come up with crazy situations, fictional things. We don’t do that. I don’t want to have to come up with those things off the top of my head. There are enough real things going on. We’re not making anything up. We try to retell the story. We don’t want to celebrate or endorse any of the actions. We try to keep an objective stance.”
Tales of the Tomb will be playing a double album release show tomorrow (Saturday, Nov. 30) at the Temple in the Starlite Room, also with Calgary’s Third Chamber. Opening will be Eye Of Horus, Murk and Brain Stem.
Until then: LISTEN HERE!
