"A Southern-Doom Metal band coming from Italy??" We bet many of you are filled with skepticism about TOMBSTONE HIGHWAY.
But just start taking a look to who's playing in this band: H.M. OUTLAW (AKA Herr Morbid - Vocals, Guitars and Banjo) is the mastermind of the italian Black/Doom Metal overlords FORGOTTEN TOMB... Enough said! Mike B. (Bass) is active in the underground Death Metal and Grind scene since years and he's the leader of one of the most promising bands from Italy, the Post-Grinders VISCERA///. Emilio "S.O.B." Sobacchi (Drums) has a 20-years experience as a drummer for many underground bands and worked as a session-musician on several albums, including the debut of italian Hard Rockers HUNGRY HEART. So now you know we're not talking about some "new-kids-on-the-block" here.
Let's take a look to the band's pedigree now. TOMBSTONE HIGHWAY was originally shaped on the muddy banks of the mighty Po'/Padus river (the longest river in Italy), in the vast rural territories between the regions of Emilia Romagna and Lombardia (this zone is known in Italy as "Pianura Padana"). These places and their folklore - all along the Padus river - surely have influenced the creation and the mood of the band; Black Sabbath, Lynyrd Skynyrd and traditional Blues and Country (with the added heaviness of low-tuned guitars and bass) provided the musical inspiration!
The band was born in the summer of 1999 under the monicker of Leaf Season Death (L.S.D.), from the will of HM OUTLAW and S.O.B. . The band practiced for several months as a 2-people outfit, but due to the lack of other members to complete
the line-up, the 2 guys grew bored and respectively joined forces with other bands, to pursue different musical ventures. Leaf Season Death was put to rest for some years. Eventually S.O.B. and HM OUTLAW ended up playing together again
in a side-project Sludge-Core band for 4 years (from 2001 to 2004), so when this band called it quit, they decided to work again together on a band which should have been sounded like the old Leaf Season Death stuff. The guys started to write new material and to practice again in the summer of 2006, then shortly after Mike B. joined on Bass, and the band's monicker was definitively changed and set to TOMBSTONE HIGHWAY. The alchemy between the 3 members was perfect since the beginning, and after some rehearsals in their barn near the Padus river, the guys entered the studio (in November 2007) to record the first official EP, appropriately titled "Padus River Graveyard Blues". A promo-Cd was spread but the band didn't manage to sign a deal and entered a "on-hold" status. From time to time the guys reunite and write/rehearse new material.
The sound of the band is marked by the pounding Drumming of S.O.B., the 10-Ton heavy Guitar-riffs and powerful Vocals of H.M. OUTLAW, and the distorted, earth-shaking Bass rumble of Mike B. . The addition of a Banjo on some of the songs increases the rural atmosphere and makes the band absolutely unique in the current so-called "Southern Metal" scene. Put "Padus River Graveyard Blues" in your stereo and feel the wilderness of the Padus river flowing free!!
TOMBSTONE HIGHWAY is the definitive Southern-European Doom Squad you were waiting for. And if you still don't believe our words, do us a favour: pump up the volume and listen to the songs.. After that we're sure you're gonna pay
the next round of whiskey to the band!! + HEADQUARTERS OF DOOM +
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