Bands: Eremit Release: Vanguardian protect Genre: Death Metal, Doom Metal, Drone Country: Germany (Osnabrück) Release Date: 15th of December, 2023 Released via Zann’s Records Drei Gleichen Cover Artwork: Sabrina Smokic It’s been quite a big deal when monolithic Death Doom heavyweights Eremit announced the release of their third full-length Wearer of numerous Forms. Why – you might ask – let me explain. As some of you might have followed, we at Transcended Music Blog were involved in the pre-release phase of this full length as well by presenting the second single off this al ..read more

Band: Ch’ahom Release: Knots of Abhorrence Genre: Death Metal Country: Germany Release Date: 3rd of November, 2023 Released via Sentient Ruin Artwork  Alexander Kavtea As can be seen by the time several of my 2023 reviews were finished, I often tend to be a little late to the game. However, apart from the fact that I also consistently take a little longer to fulfil my plans, I also tend to be late when it comes to finding out about bands from my closer surroundings. A few years ago, I reviewed the debut offering by US Death Metal outfit Tzompantli that transported a sta ..read more

Band: Ingested Release: The Tide Of Death And Fractured Dreams Genre: Death Metal Country: England (Manchester) Release Date: 5th of April, 2024 Released via Metal Blade Records Time for a new Ingested record! The UK based Death Metal / Deathcore act release their seventh full length record. As always, I’ll start with what strikes me first and that’s the art… goddamn, that thing is amazing! The cover art is a creation of the artist David Seidman, who already did the art for the band’s previous record Ashes Lie Still. His style is surreal, dreamy, macabre, sometimes even gory b ..read more

Bands: Necrophobic Release: In The Twilight Grey Genre: Melodic Black/Death Metal Country: Sweden Release Date: 15th of March, 2024 Released via Century Media Records The tenth release of Swedish powerhouse Necrophobic is a difficult beast to review. Seriously. If you are a fan of the band you already know what you are getting. And you can also expect nothing but the highest quality of these guys. Establishing themselves in the swedish melodic black metal scene with their classic debut The Nocturnal Silence in 1993, they quickly became one of the household names of the genre wi ..read more

Band: Skeletal Remains Release: Fragments of the Ageless Genre: Death Metal Country: USA Release Date: 8th of March, 2024 Released via Century Media Records There are not many bands that can boast a flawless discography. Often an album is released that divides fans or critics and, in the worst case, is labelled a flop or a stinker. Skeletal Remains, however, are far from that when you look at their previous records. The band has been active since 2011 and has released four very strong albums to date. Their latest work Fragments of the Ageless will be released on March 8th via C ..read more

Bands: Job For A Cowboy Release: Moon Healer Genre: Technical Death Metal Country: USA Release Date: 23rd of February, 2024 Released via Metal Blade Records 10 years is a really long time in the music business. When Job For A Cowboy released the critically acclaimed but never extensively promoted (at least considering live shows) Sun Eater in 2014, a lot of their earlier fans were shocked by the very technical and complex songwriting and turned away in disgust. At least those expecting another throwback to the band’s Deathcore sound the band helped to make popular during the b ..read more

Band: Darkest Hour Release: Perpetual | Terminal Genre: Metal Country: USA Release Date: 23rd of February, 2024 Released via MNRK Heavy The metaphor of an old wine getting better with age is boring and overused and in the case of Darkest Hour not fitting. Darkest Hour are more like a hot sauce that’s been sitting in your cupboard that is getting more and more vile with time. Godless Prophets & the migrant Flora was already a stellar comeback-album (I’d like to call it that way) and it is a delight to see that Darkest Hour still have the fire inside them to release another a ..read more

Band: Spectral Voice Release: Sparagmos Genre: Death Metal, Doom Metal Country: USA Release Date: 9th of February, 2024 Released via Dark Descent Records It’s hard to believe but it’s already been seven years since Spectral Voice released their debut album Eroded Corridors of Unbeing. This behemoth of a record belongs to the cream of the crop within its genre. On February 9th the time has finally come and Sparagmos the band’s sophomore album will be released via Dark Descent Records. The title, “Sparagmos”, describes an ancient sacrificial ritual in which people and animals we ..read more

Band: Autopsy Release: Ashes, Organs, Blood and Crypts Genre: Death Metal Country: USA Release Date: 27th of October, 2023 Released via Peaceville Records I’ll start with the conclusion: This year’s output from death metal legends Autopsy is undoubtedly one of my highlights of 2023. After the first listen to the opener “Rapid Funeral“, I was immediately hooked on this record! The fast and energetic beginning, the simple but powerful riffing and the gripping, atmospheric ending … and that was only the beginning of this 41-minute journey. Without mercy and with plenty of lead on ..read more

Band: Terra Builder Release: Solar Temple Genre: Death Metal, Grindcore, Black Metal Country: Germany (Münster) Release Date: 29th of September, 2023 Released via Transcending Obscurity Records I think by now, it is no longer a secret that my side project Lower Rhine Underground gets me fully involved with the NRW underground scene. While continuously looking for new music from this federal state, I’ve been consistently finding a lot of great new artists. Every now and then, though, some even larger gems flash up in the middle of the huge supply this musical scene delivers. Of ..read more