Track By Tracks: Tooms - Karst (2026)

1. BLOODRUST: OF CUDGEL AND QUILL:

First and foremost, for all the songs on this record, the music came first. Lyrics are written 90% of the time after the music. It's hard to put into words what some songs are about, especially after the fact. They usually just come from a visceral place, both lyrically and musically. It's a cathartic thing that just sort of happens, and we just serve as human conduits to the riffs and themes, if that makes sense. I also think it's important that every listener makes their own interpretation of the songs. That said, I'll do my best to explain each track.

Bloodrust went through the most amount of changes from its early inception about 5 years ago. It started with a couple of riffs Anto had kicking around for a long time. We built from there. He had a pretty clear idea where the song should go sonically. We jammed it out in the band room as we do with pretty much all of our songs.  Its themes are loosely about escapism and slowly losing oneself to substance (or any other addiction). Its obvious meaning is hidden in metaphors, about an evil ruling warlord, hardship, human sacrifice & ritual killing. We wanted a marching war drum feel to the song. The opening drum rolls made it an easy choice for opening the album, really setting the tone.

2. LOWLANDER:

Most of Lowlander came from experimenting with a baritone scale guitar, as far back as COVID, when we couldn't leave the house. Its a song I (Alex) had written most of, it's the least like TOOMS songs of the past. Its spacey and has loads of melody and big chords. It was an experiment in tone and scale: how could we make something really spacious feel as big as possible? I knew I wanted to layer guitar harmonies, something I hadn't really done before. We set out to make something really ugly and really beautiful at the same time. Lyrically, it's mostly about isolation, loneliness, and the experience of feeling empty and dissatisfied.

3. TOWER OF SILENCE:

Tower of Silence is probably the most collaborative track on the album (they are all collaborative, each TOOMS song is written as TOOMS, never as an individual member) Anto had this beautiful bass part that served as a perfect intro, as well as the main riffs of the song, I had a some melodic chord sections I'd been playing around with, and they just seemed to fit perfectly with Anto's riffs. I rarely write guitar solos, but this song just called for one, and it fit the theme of pushing through hard times. The song ebbs and flows to a crescendo of victory.

Put simply, this song is about weathering the storm and knowing that there is light at the end of the tunnel. It's a triumph over adversity. I had written lyrics ages ago about a lighthouse that I'd totally forgotten about. They just happened to fit perfectly with newer lyrics I'd written while sitting by the cliffs of Loop Head. There is something about the rugged Atlantic waves and scenery of the West Coast that is awe-inspiring. There is even a sample of the shore breaking at the Bridges of Ross in the intro.

The coolest thing about this song is Kieran taking on vocal duties, with an almost clean vocal delivery for the chorus, and a vocal melody I'd never have thought of; he really elevated the song with that. Hearing lyrics I'd written come out of somebody else's mouth, and sound way better, the way I was trying to deliver them was so cool. He really stepped up on this record and went from back-up vocals to taking on full lead vocal parts, and not just on this track. Kudos to him. It actually made writing lyrics so much better having someone to bounce off.

4. BLUE ANGEL:

I had been playing a lot of Red Dead 2, and was really inspired by the new Hanover theme, so Blue Angel is my take on western ambient. It's basically about a sprite that comes to save a dying man. The bowed guitars that hang like ghosts in the background really make this piece what it is.

5. DRINKVLT:

I think Drinkvlt is the red herring of the album; it's the most like our previous releases, it's rooted more in stoner metal. It's the "fun" sounding song on this record. Definitely a people mover, it's the party song. I've been a huge fan of Weedeater since I first heard them in my teens. We got the chance to see them play in 2023 (and got to support them a year later). After the show, I set out to write some Weedeater-inspired riffs. They came together really quick. I phoned Kieran and called over to his house. Within about 2 hours, we had written the full song. That NEVER happens. Easily the quickest song has ever been put together. The lyrics are about pissing your life away with drugs and booze. Starts out fun, but it can quickly go off the rails and lead you down a dark path if you're not careful. It's about having fun, but it's also a warning not to be consumed by consumption.

6. TWO SILVER PIECES:

Another western ambient track. I bought a 30" Danelectro baritone in December 2020. On the 23 of December, 2020, the bones of this song were written in the little box room of my mother's house. Hugely inspired by the Dollars Trilogy. We recorded the Dano through a trio of vintage Gibson, Fender, and Vox amps with unique tremolo and reverb fx, we also ran my Orange CR120 clean channel into a Leslie speaker. Chris Quigley really helped shape the sound design, making it feel really cinematic. That was the goal: to create a dusty, spacious, vast Western tune, think Earth's Hex. Chris added the piano at the end of the recording day. We spotted an old, battered, slightly out-of-tune piano in the corner of the studio and decided on the spot to have Chris play it. It was a real in-the-moment thing, but it adds so much character. He's amazing like that; he just hashed out the melody on the spot, and really nailed it. It isn't really about anything; it's just meant to give a spacious, almost vast feeling. Like navigating through high plains and deserts alone.

7. WHITETHORN:

Whitethorn is easily the darkest song we have ever written. It deals with some heavy themes: losing loved ones to suicide, domestic abuse, loosing a child, and betrayal. It's about all the different ways these things break one's heart and soul. But also, and more importantly, it's about overcoming those struggles, and making it out the other end a stronger, better person. We wanted to write something more serious, and boy, did we. Instead of writing joke lyrics that mean nothing, I looked inward, used the negative shit life can throw at you as fuel, to get real, raw vocal takes. This applies in the studio, or performance after performance in a live environment. When one draws from real lived experience, it's easier (well, harder actually) to get authentic emotion across, and I think purging all that negative shit to create something positive like music or art is the best way to deal with it. TOOMS is therapy at times.

I imagine if Neil Young wrote metal, this is what it would sound like. Huge shout-out to Hana for lending us her savage voice on this one, really the cherry on top of a mean-sounding slab of metallic sludge.

8. A RELEASE OF TENSION:

Anto came up with possibly the creepiest-sounding interlude on any record ever. layered bass parts and building, bubbling synth increase like the heart rate of a killer out for blood. Its the perfect segue into the mammoth closer. The title "a release of tension" comes from an interview with The Iceman, telling the reporter what he felt whenever he ended someone's life.

9. PHYSICS BEYOND THE STANDARD MODEL:

PBTSM is likely the most ambitious track ever put together. Its lyrics come from a profound psychedelic experience. I cringe a little as I type that, because it's a little played out. "The sludge band wrote about using drugs." Oh wow, that's new. NOT.

So I feel like it almost takes away from the song when I say that, but that's where it came from, so there ain't much more I can tell ya. The music is the aural depiction of what a trip like that feels like. Cyclical, building in intensity, and with many, many layers to it, eventually being spat out the other end, confused and exhausted, but with a new sense of purpose and a fresh outlook. Another song that went through heaps of chances, the main riff was written shortly after the release of our first album, and has come through many, many alterations since. A track we kept building on in the band room together. I'd like to note that the waltz section in the middle of the song was largely inspired by the Abigail Williams tune Ascension Sickness, so shout out to them for the inspiring, moving music.

I guess at its core, it's a song about the spirit, and its relationship to the physical, tangible world. How tied in are we? How much reality can we really see? Is this it? What, if anything, is next? Why are we here? All those questions won't ever really be answered. Not til ya die anyways.

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