Transcending Obscurity

2020 Albums

Album Review: Live Burial – Unending Futility 8.7 (OSDM)

February 6, 2020 Melinda (Carcassbomb)

For once I’m not just reviewing this because it’s on Transcending Obscurity, this album also features the artwork of Luke Oram who I’ve covered so much that he earned his very own category on Noob Heavy. Why? Because he’s criminally underrated and deserves way more exposure for how prolific he is in the metal scene. From what I understand, Live Burial themselves are quite close to Luke over there in the UK. So it’s all wrapped up in my favorite things, but is Unending Futility any good? Yes! It’s very good, it’s quite a memorable old school death metal release. […]

2020 Albums

Album Review: Wardaemonic – Acts Of Repentance 9.5 (Black Metal)

January 20, 2020 Melinda (Carcassbomb)

Alright, what is in the bloody water over at Perth? The amount of bands coming out of there at the top of their game is intense. It’s unlike anywhere else on the continent, and they’re even on my favorite label, Transcending Obscurity. This label has good taste, every album that gets released there has some kind of quirk or progressive music ideology that separates the bands from their genre. This isn’t just another black metal album, it’s an experience equally capable of being a mosher and a thinker. It unravels unto your mind and stirs something in your soul. Acts of Repentance releases on the 20th of March and will be one of this year’s highlights just based on the sound and presentation combination happening here. It’s a high quality and well-rounded album. […]

Interviews

Interview: Eternal Storm, “Come The Tide” on Transcending Obscurity Records (Melodic Death Metal)

January 20, 2020 Melinda (Carcassbomb)

Eternal Storm made one hell of a splash in 2019 with “Come The Tide”, a sophisticated album that made its way into many end of year lists including my own. I still listen to it every week and cannot recommend it enough. It’s cumulative of it’s inspirations while also maintaining its own identity throughout. There’s a strong sense of voice across this album matched by strong musicianship and song writing. Essential listening for fans of Swallow The Sun, Opeth, Amorphis or anything good that has the duality of melody and death growls. […]

2020 Albums

Album Review: Colosso – “Apocalypse” 9/10 (Death Metal)

January 14, 2020 Melinda (Carcassbomb)

Surprise surprise, another brilliant release from Transcending Obscurity Records. I’ll never get tired of covering their roster, it’s so diverse and creative. This is where being a metal journalist and being a fan of music collide perfectly, getting early access to my favorite record labels releases. This time around I’m listening to the new EP from Colosso and I don’t typically do a full review for an EP but I believe they have utilised the format perfectly. It tells a short and concise story while also trying out new things and presenting new musical ideas across each track. It helps that we’re dealing with very experienced musicians here, this album is a cool collaboration that ties into the themes of the release which I will get into. Apocalypse will be released February 14th, 2020. […]

2019 Albums

Album Review: Oak – Lone 8 (Death Doom)

November 18, 2019 Melinda (Carcassbomb)

Is this Treebeards band? The vocals deadset sound like they’re coming for a colossal fucking tree. I shit you not. OAK are a death doom duo from Portugal and this is Lone, their debut LP featuring the artwork of Paolo Gerardi. There’s a strong presence with OAK that I think has carried over from their experience writing black metal songs in the band Gaerea. While it is certainly death doom, it is sometimes coated in black influence – particularly the song structure and vocal execution. Lone will be a memorable late year release many doom heads will take with them into 2020. […]

2019 Albums

Album Review: Rogga Johansson – Entrance To The Otherwhere 8.5 (Melo Death)

July 22, 2019 Melinda (Carcassbomb)

This is a solo project. Now go listen and hold a physical copy of this beautiful artwork, then let that fact sink in. This material is of higher quality than most bands and it’s the result of one prolific madman, Rogga Johansson, whose metallum credits are longer than a receipt from Coles. Check it out for yourself here. All of this experience has culminated in this full force effort, finally eliminating his need for other bandmates entirely. He does everything on this record to great acclaim – his vocals aren’t as trained or technical but it serves its purpose perfectly. Everything on this record is in line with Swedish death metal so if you know you like that then dig into this with wild abandon. […]