Forgotten Tomb – Nightfloating (Review)

This is the eleventh album from Forgotten Tomb, an Italian black/doom metal band.

A new Forgotten Tomb album is a notable event around these parts. 2015’s Hurt Yourself and the Ones You Love, 2017’s We Owe You Nothing, and 2020’s Nihilistic Estrangement, were all top drawer records, so it’s with expectation that Nightfloating‘s 41 minutes of new material is greeted.

Nightfloating consolidates Forgotten Tomb’s dark and sinister powers into a fortress of blackened might. The ingredients are depressive black metal passion, doom metal gloom, black ‘n roll swagger, emotive Gothic doom, and a touch of virulent blackened sludge, (much less though than some of the band’s output), and the result is an album that encompasses what Forgotten Tomb are all about in 2024, 25 years after they first manifested into the underworld. Nightfloating takes elements of the entirety of Forgotten Tomb’s dark existence thus far and renders them into a potent collection of six songs.

Forgotten Tomb make good use of their melodic prowess across the album. They twist, writhe, and contort, sometimes with a Gothic air that’s almost jaunty, (but not quite), and sometimes with a deeply held negativity that drenches the music in sadness and woe. At other times there’s a malevolent feeling that’s unsettling, while at others the sense is of cavorting daemons joyfully devouring souls. Whatever the melodies do, they’re potent signifiers of Forgotten Tomb’s songwriting abilities. These abilities don’t start and stop with just the melodies, of course. These new songs are well-crafted and are awash with depressive feelings. The songs are less vicious than some of the band’s past work, yet still have a core of menace that’s undeniable. They are the type of songs that get under your skin.

It’s great to have Forgotten Tomb back once more. Nightfloating is a solid and enjoyable addition to the band’s discography, and highly recommended for anyone looking for a compelling mixture of black, doom, and Gothic metal.