Review: Silvertomb – The Interpretation of Nightmares

October 21, 2026

Tunes for night terrors

I miss Type O Negative. That’s a very widespread sentiment; that band truly was one of a kind in many ways, however, while the death of its frontman Peter Steele marked the end of that band, 2/4ths of “the Drab Four” are still kicking and making music, and one of their projects is Silvertomb.

Kenny Hickey and John Kelly, formerly of T.O.N. have remained good friends and teamed up multiple times since Steele’s death, most recently on their supergroup Sun Don’t Shine along with Kirk Windstein and Todd Strange of Crowbar and Down fame. Silvertomb on the other hand sees the duo team up with Joe James (ex-Agnostic Front), Hank Hell (ex-Sheer Terror) and Aaron Joos who previously released a really cool record back in 2019. After a very long 7 years, the group finally reassembled to unleash The Interpretation of Nightmares.

The first thing I’ll say, and this is for all T.O.N. fans out there who’re aching for a quick fix, this record is not T.O.N. Hickey and Kelly may be here, their unique talents are on full display, but this is not T.O.N. and that’s OK. Silvertomb at its core is a doom metal band with some proggy elements here and there. If I had to compare it to anything, imagine if Black Sabbath and Pink Floyd had a kid: metallic yet bluesy riffs, orchestral flourishes, a somber atmosphere, psyche-tinged organs and Kenny Hickey belting his soul off while Johnny Kelly effortless switches between steady rock beats and more hard-hitting percussion.

While I’m obviously gonna praise Hickey and Kelly, their bandmates are no slouches; Joe James and Aaron Joos do an excellent job backing up Hickey’s guitars, and the latter is also an excellent keyboardist, his playing is more there for textures and ambiance, but they perfectly harmonize with the guitars and emphasize them as needed. My one nitpick isn’t Hank Hell’s basslines, he’s really good, but he doesn’t get to shine as often as the guitars. Obviously having three guitar tracks and also keys will obfuscate the bass, but when I could hear the bass, it was still great, just wish I could hear it more often.

As a whole this record truly is a display of 5 masterclass musicians flexing their talents, and doing very well as a unit too. It’s an easy rec if you want moody doom metal with some rock and roll swagger and weird but subdued prog vibes. It’s also a great mood record to decompress and have a thought or two. Not groundbreaking but definitely enjoyable and worthy of your time.