Mothertomb – Dying To Live

by Mark 'Yeti' Richard · August 10, 2026

Mothertomb is a heavy stoner/ doom metal band from Petoskey, Michigan. They consist of Alice Gawlinski on vocals, Chance Gawlinski on guitar, Alton Minor on bass, and Mike Benitez on drums. Formed in 2025, the band just released their debut full length album entitled Dying To Live, on July 14th 2026. It contains five tracks at forty minutes long.

Doom metal is one of the genres that I tend to judge most critically and harshly for whatever reason. I love traditional doom like Pentagram and Trouble, but certain bands playing the slow and repetitive stuff gets the better of me. However, after listening to this debut album from Mothertomb, I am completely floored and impressed! This record is amazing! Everything was done one hundred percent DIY, with the recording and mixing handled by bassist Alton Minor. The cover artwork was created by vocalist Alice Gawlinski and every song was written by the band collectively, with guitarist Chance Gawlinski’s riffs providing the fuel. Dying To Live sounds like a record that was well thought out and I really connect with the “Do It Yourself” ethos, as the band seems capable of handling everything just right.

From the very opening notes of “The Summoning”, the dark and eerie mystics of the Mothertomb sound begins to morph and grow into something quite awesome. The dynamic tones and angelic vocal harmonizing from Alice, lures you right in. The music is a beautiful and heavy buildup of ethereal psychedelic doom, with it’s tribal drumming and hypnotic resonance. It’s a perfect and suitable intro that leads into the ten minute opus, “Cythral”. The clean guitars and seductive vocals are so divine and beautiful. The music crescendos into the thick fuzz and distortion with crushing drums but always staying rooted in the melody. Halfway through the song, Alice lays down some viscous and harsh vocals that accentuates the song with just the right touch. Mothertomb returns to the mellow but hovers back and forth between the heavy transitions. There is a lot going on sonically within this song but the flow and changes are so meticulous and natural. The music and vocals draw you in and stays consistent and connected throughout the duration of Dying To Live.

The third track “Beware”, begins slow and progressively gets heavier with Alice’s voice leading us along for the ride. The song really soars towards the end, in the final two minutes. Some cool drum fills and heavy transitions lead into a devastating doom riff, with double bass drumming and all. The spoken vocals and nasty “Beware!” accents are so satisfying. The band then goes into “Mountain Hag”, an alluring and monolithic storm that has it all. Aside from the devastating stoner riffs and thunderous drumming, there’s a funky bass groove with scores of trippy psychedelic textures happening also. The amazing singing prowess from Alice delivers another powerful impact and makes this song sound so emotive and vibrant. Her voice really shines throughout this recording and enhances all of these songs, as it is the perfect compliment to the excellent musical back line from the rest of the band.

The fifth and final song is the title track, “Dying To Live”. The drums start things off for a couple of measures as the tones blends right in. Sludge filled riffs with doom driven rhythms, the song has a mesmerizing flow with an invigorating dark groove. The dynamic vocals shift from angelic to seething as the tsunami of riffs comes crashing in. It’s another massive and masterful piece of musical art that caps off Dying To Live so beautifully. Mothertomb is a band that has made a huge impact on me, giving me a new appreciation for where doom metal is headed. This is a band to keep an eye on because I can only predict amazing things for them in the future. Dying To Live is definitely one of best debut albums of the year and stands out in a deep ocean of stoner rock releases of 2026.