BATHORY´ZINE: 2022 TRANSCENDING OBSCURITY Label Sampler, new DENIM merch, NECROPHAGOUS release day

Saturday, January 8, 2022

2022 TRANSCENDING OBSCURITY Label Sampler, new DENIM merch, NECROPHAGOUS release day

I must apologise for the dearth of newsletters in the last few months - admittedly we had a gruelling schedule that took a toll on my health among other things and that didn't leave me much time for anything at all. With that shitty year (still the biggest one for Trancending Obscurity though!) behind us, we're looking at an extremely bright year in 2022 where I've promised myself that I won't put out more than two releases a month. Hopefully that will give me the time to personally draft these newsletters for you all and keep you in the loop of what's going on at our end and what you can expect in the foreseeable future. And of course, there'll be the download codes (you'll find some below for the Necrophagous release that came out today!).

2022 Label Sampler -

After sending out some private invitations to the label fans on the Transcending Obscurity Facebook Group to check it out before others, we've finally made the 2022 Label Sampler public on Bandcamp AT THIS LINK. You'll find all the info about it below but suffice to say, I've worked extremely hard to build the kind of roster I've envisioned for the label going ahead and I'm most pleased with it. We're getting there. As mentioned, most of these bands are still working on new material so it will be some time before you hear new albums from them but the way things are, there's going to be a good mix between current and new bands, so it should be quite diverse overall! Lined up this year are releases of Viande, Paganizer, Morgue Supplier, Defect Designer, Arche and a few others which weren't part of this year's sampler and of course the newer ones such as Dischordia, Sisyphean, Abaddon Incarnate, DeathFuckingCunt, Devenial Verdict, etc. just to give you all some idea. Scheduling is problematic because of the massive turnaround time at the vinyl plants worldwide but we'll be sure to keep you updated on it all.

We've also launched denim jackets and vests starting with this release. We made sure to use material that's 100% cotton without any lycra or polyester mixed with it (hate that) and we got customized metal buttons made with the TO logo initials too. It took us a good deal of time and money to get this going (we had to install machinery to be able to make them in-house) but we're quite pleased with the end result and I hope you all will like it too! They're reasonably priced and you can use them to turn them into your 'battle' jackets/vests too by adding more patches to them.

This is easily our most interesting label sampler, showcasing our new direction with more extreme, challenging and innovative music than the conventional ones on our roster. While there is still a healthy mix of the two, the future will see more forward-thinking music on the label. Ultimately though, it's all about the quality of music, and like always, there's enough diversity where all of this goes. Most of the bands participating here have yet to come up with new album material so the pace of the releases will eventually be curtailed. There are still commitments to fulfill and towards that end we'll do our best but 2022 will definitely see fewer releases than the recent years preceding it. Our intention is to delve into the music and do justice to it, using the platform that we've created over the years to give it the output and push it deserves. As always, we can't thank the bands enough for working with us and entrusting us with the propagation of their music, and of course to everyone who has supported the label in any way.

The label sampler has been segregated (probably for the last time) in the following manner, with emphasis given to the flow than anything else really -

Tracks 1-12 - death metal
Tracks 13-15 - black metal
Tracks 16-30 - dissonant/brutal/atmospheric/experimental death metal
Tracks 30-33 - grindcore
Tracks 34-35 - doom/sludge metal

Artwork by Mariusz Lewandowski

Track listing -
1. WOMBBATH (Sweden) - The Dead And The Dying (Death Metal)
2. TYPHONIAN (Germany) - The Cosmic Pendulum Of Time (Death Metal)
3. GATEWAY (Belgium) - Rack Crawler (Death Metal)
4. VOMITHEIST (Switzerland) - Strangled By Entrails (Death Metal)
5. FUMES (Canada) - Ruminations (Death Metal)
6. INTESTINAL HEX (Canada) - Mechanics Of Flesh (Death Metal)
7. TEMPLE OF SCORN (Denmark) - Burden of Decline (Death Metal)
8. ATVM (UK) - Picture Of Decay (Progressive Death Metal)
9. DE PROFUNDIS (UK) - Religious Cancer (Death Metal)
10. THORN (US) - Spiritual Sacrifice (Death Metal)
11. DEUS VERMIN (UK) - Mute (Blackened Death Metal)
12. AS THE WORLD DIES (UK) - As The World Dies (Death Metal)
13. IMPERIALIST (US) - The Maw (Sci-Fi Black Metal)
14. FROZEN DAWN (Spain) - Frozen Kings (Black Metal)
15. SISYPHEAN (Lithuania) - Scorched Timeless (Black Metal)
16. REPLICANT (US) - Excess Womb (Dissonant/Technical Death Metal)
17. VEILBURNER (US) - Lo! Heirs To The Serpent (Dissonant Black/Death Metal)
18. BURIAL HORDES (Greece) - Purgation (Dissonant/Dark Death Metal)
19. RESIN TOMB (Australia) - Penance (Dissonant Death Metal/Grind)
20. ORPHALIS (Germany) - Herding Black Sheep (Brutal/Technical Death Metal)
21. DEATHFUCKINGCUNT (Australia) - Conceived In Formaldehyde (Brutal/Technical Death Metal)
22. DISCHORDIA (US) - Minds of Dust (Brutal/Dissonant/Technical Death Metal)
23. MICHEL ANOIA (France) - Nervures (Dissonant/Technical/Death/Black Metal)
24. LOGISTIC SLAUGHTER (US) - Beggar (Brutal/Dissonant/Technical Death Metal)
25. BYONOISEGENERATOR (Russia) - Hypoluminance (Brutal Death Metal/Jazz)
26. KLEXOS (US) - Adiaphora (Atmospheric/Dissonant Death Metal)
27. DEVENIAL VERDICT (Finland) - Ash Blind (Atmospheric/Dissonant Death Metal)
28. DYSGNOSTIC (Denmark) - Silvery Tongues (Dissonant Death Metal)
29. MORS VERUM (Canada) - Inside (Dissonant Death Metal)
30. SPURN (Canada) - Clapping Seals (Dissonant Grindcore)
31. ABADDON INCARNATE (Ireland) - Rising Of The Lights (Grindcore)
32. HENRY KANE (Sweden) - Numb (Grindcore/Crust)
33. ERNIA (Spain) - Farewell, Sputnik (Grindcore)
34. MORBID EVILS (Finland) - Anxious (Sludge/Doom Metal)
35. LURK (Finland) - Ashlands (Atmospheric Sludge/Doom Metal)

Transcending Obscurity Bandcamp

Transcending Obscurity Site

Transcending Obscurity Official YouTube Channel

Transcending Obscurity Facebook

Transcending Obscurity Facebook Group

Transcending Obscurity Instagram

Transcending Obscurity US Store

Transcending Obscurity Europe Store

Monthly offer: January 2022 -

Pick up any 2 LPs (combos are included!) this month and they'll come with the 2022 Label Sampler tote bag, with that gorgeous Mariusz Lewandowski artwork in full colour! Do bear mind that the offers can only be valid on our official store and Bandcamp, as only those two stores are directly managed by us in India.

Release day: Necrophagous -

Necrophagous (Sweden) - In Chaos Ascend (Death Metal)

Genre - Death Metal
Release Date - January 7th, 2022
Record Label - Transcending Obscurity Records
For fans of - Morbid Angel, Dying Fetus, Deicide, Replicant, Cannibal Corpse, Suffocation, Revulsion

Members of Visceral Bleeding and Entrails converge to forge a style of death metal that's both old school in sound and also contemporary in the way they inject the irresistible grooves. In effect, it doesn't sound too different from a cross of the aforementioned bands, with a healthy dose of the genre's progenitors such as Morbid Angel, Deicide, Cannibal Corpse, Dying Fetus and like. The amalgamation of the distinct two styles is thorough and highly potent. There's always powerful riffing forming the trajectory for the songs which are punctuated by staggering breakdowns and intermittent stop-start parts that seize the momentum and release it with magnified force while keeping up the intensity level throughout. The thick, hoarse vocals add a layer of menace over the proceedings which refuse to relent, as you sink deeper into their carefully laid quagmire of insanely catchy music with all the right elements. 'In Chaos Ascend' is a well-rounded, fulfilling and highly addictive debut from a lineup having all the experience to pull it off with aplomb and make it an unforgettable affair too.

PRESS -

- "fiendishly catchy" - No Clean Singing (US)

- "immense debut" - Head-Banger Reviews (US)

- "Necrophagous have created an absolute monster" - Rock'n'Load (UK) 9/10

- "incredibly enjoyable" - Metal Purgatory (US) 9/10

- "this is a mighty offering" - The Killchain (UK)

- "damn if it isn’t infectious" - Nine Circles (US)

- "an excellent Swedish death metal album" - Roppongi Rocks (Japan)

- "old school death metal with lashings of neck-breaking groove" - Man of Much Metal (UK) 85%

- "magnificent" - Canadian Assault (Canada)

- "This is just damn good death metal" - Wonderbox Metal (UK)

- "Absolute death metal massacre!" - Deadly Storm (Czech Republic)

- "lovers of Death Metal should not miss" - The Dark Melody (Spain) 8.1/10

- "the early bar setter for death metal in 2022" - GBHBL (UK) 8/10

- "we immediately understand it by being crushed by its strength" - Acta Infernalis (France) 80/100

- "jagged blasts and headbangable grooves" - The Metal Observer (Canada) 7.5/10

- "one thick slab of prime death metal" - Worship Metal (UK)

- "the early bar setter for death metal in 2022" - GBHBL (UK) 8/10

Line up -
Tommy Carlsson (Visceral Bleeding, ex-Entrails) - Vocals & Guitar
Jocke Svensson (ex-Entrails) - Bass
Martin Michaelsson (ex-Entrails) - Drums

Artwork by Mattias Frisk (Ghost, Vanhelgd)