It's not often that a band from my neck of the woods signs to a label I love. But that's what Topeka- and Kansas City-based Tundra have done, signing with the underground giant Rottweiler Records. And the band is wasting no time at all in putting out new music. Just a few months after the announcement, Tundra's label debut Eternal is here.

Now, Tundra isn't exactly a new band; the guys have been playing together for a few years now and have even released music as early as 2020. Eternal is pretty solid overall, but it does also have the markings of a new-ish band. There are some moments where the musicianship doesn't seem quite as tight as in other spots, and "Alone" has some mild timing issues. They also use a lot of clean vocals, which are honestly their biggest weakness. Unfortunately, it causes the album to both open and close in a less-than-satisfying manner, with lots of clean vocals used as bookends - though it's hard to be mad at "You Are" and its worshipful close (the refrain of "You are, You are the God of mercy / the One who saves me" sounds ready for a worship set). I'd also be remiss if I didn't mention album highlight "Revelation," which uses soaring clean vocals very well in the chorus (I keep finding myself singing "This is the end of everything we had" at random points during my day). Truth be told, any weaknesses the album shows are all things that can be improved over time. And with the amount of talent and competency found throughout the album, I've no doubt that they're only going to get better from here.

These things are also not indicative of the album as a whole, which legitimately has a lot of goodness to offer. I love the way the intro track smoothly merges into "Welcome To Hell," a manic deathcore track that checks all the right boxes and grabs the listener's attention. "Hostage" follows suit, with blast beats and furious riffing and screaming that make for one of the best tracks on the album. "Smoke and Mirrors" displays the band's versatility, blending post-hardcore, melodic rock, and metalcore into an uplifting track about trusting in God more than pills and fighting to stay alive in the midst of depression. It gets pretty real in the bridge as the song ups the intensity and vocalist Morgan Monroe screams, "Please don't push me away, I'm here for you / if God can heal a broken man, He can heal you too / open the door or answer the phone / you say you need to be alone but now you look down the barrel of a gun / take my hand so I can pull you out." The all-too-relevant struggles with depression and anxiety are a recurring theme throughout the album, but it's great to know that the band points back to the Healer in the closing track.

Tundra is a good addition to the Rottweiler roster. While they admittedly have some room for growth as musicians and vocalists, Eternal is evidence that they're already plenty accomplished and have nowhere to go but up. This is a band to keep an eye on. In the meantime, check out Eternal and enjoy a taste of Midwest deathcore.

- Review date: 4/3/25, written by Scott Fryberger of Jesusfreakhideout.com

 

 

 Record Label: Rottweiler Records
 Album length: 11 tracks: 36 minutes, 35 seconds
 Street Date: April 4, 2025
 Buy It: Bandcamp

1. Alone (2:32)
2. Welcome To Hell (4:04)
3. The Pit (4:08)
4. The Witch (3:38)
5. Smoke and Mirrors (3:54)
6. Hostage (2:58)
7. 911 (1:45)
8. Undead (2:27)
9. Insane (3:04)
10. Revelation (3:58)
11. You Are (4:01)