With hackles raised and mouths adrip with green-glowing bile Santa Fe, New Mexico-based death metal quartet STREET TOMBS now claw their way back for a sophomore full-length album intent on spewing toxic accost atop the corrupt and complacent alike. Grave churned auld-style death metal, thrash and a crusted-over punk whip all feature in irrational fusion on ‘Existence is Corruption‘ as the band reprise their signature under slightly different parameters. Though their laser focused, heads-down approach has some potential to blaze past in a samey blur on sight the smaller, finer details are once again where their approach to mid-paced death metal action sparks the most interest.

Street Tombs were borne as a trio circa 2017 by way of folks known for their work in Predatory Light, Torn Between Worlds and Cripple (among others) for the sake of glomming their interest in the line(s) drawn between crust punk and thrashing death metal. Boosted to a quartet (via an ex-Trap Them member) soon after, they’d cycled through a total of three demos in the space of about four years before arriving upon a fairly straightforward form of mid-paced death metal. Their debut LP (‘Reclusive Decay‘, 2023) defied expectations in that it worked beyond the samey hand of their demo run, boosting the lead guitar interest enough to incite smaller nodes of Autopsy and Bolt Thrower-esque trod. My review of that debut was a bit all over the place as the details of their sound on-record were sharpened to a new level but the overall impression of the experience was fairly dry, sluggish but still a great time per its tanklike roll.

Within the ~half hour course of ‘Existence is Corruption‘ Street Tombs generally restate their modus where simpler, blunted and circularly shaped ~3-4 minute death metal songs are delivered with steadily chunking finesse. Here the linkage between sludgy death metal four-count riffs, garage cramped roars and a sorta thrashing metalpunk ride makes some additional room for the odd bit of black metallic traipse. This moves away from the d-beaten Swedeath trample n’ kick of their debut unto a number of droning thrashers (re: “Deceptor”) but not without some level of flourish or structure set to distinguish. A circuitous way to suggest their approach is largely the same on album number two for sure, but returning fandom will appreciate the amount which their realm is reborn rather than fully landscaped of its thornier interest.

In the course of repeated listening the contrast between Street Tombs‘ first record and this follow-up become more obviate. Vocalist/guitarist Damian Jacoby (Distorted Evil) inhabits a more hollowed space on this recording, achieving less of an early 90’s death metal growl and instead carrying some additional room noise into a more intelligible grunt. The drums are probably the biggest change in perceived space, or, sound design where it seems they’ve taken on a less confined presence, rattling along with colder kicks and more headroom for fills and such. I don’t know if they were aiming for a pre-’93 Morrisound or nearby sound, this is far more crisp and loud in every sense, but I get that level of measured containment from pieces like “Septic Values” in terms of the rhythm section’s total feature in the mix.

Though I’d no real complaints to launch at Side A within the first several casual listening sessions “Upset the Grave” b/w “Systemic Suffering” would consistently feature as the pieces that’d pulled my attention directly toward ‘Existence is Corruption‘. All it took was a whammy dive and a choice solo or two on the former to key me into Street Tombs‘ mid-paced thrashing trample but the latter piece is the clear standout in extension of some of the more creatively adorned stuff found on ‘Reclusive Decay‘ while also bringing its centrally pushed groove in place of a typical chorus. Whammy bar abuse and some forlorn feedback/droning tacked onto a song might not strike you as major feature on a death metalpunk record but those flourishes ultimately count toward the characterization of its otherwise concise, flatly barreling ~33 minute scrub through.

In my time with ‘Existence is Corruption‘, sans any chance at lyrical analysis, Street Tombs made a solid case for iteration upon their original idea here almost ten years beyond conception. Juiced-up production values, a small hit of blackened thrash, and some smaller changes to their sound haven’t pulled ’em away from the laser focus of their whole undertaking, a steadfastness which I’d appreciated even if it meant having to dig around for anything outright memorable within the fray. If you’re out for hardcore/crust punk motorized death metal rather than the abundant tough guy shit of today these folks once again manage a wholly viable riff-intensive alternative. A moderately high recommendation.

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