We’ve mentioned Transcend Obscurity Records on our podcast but it’s time to give them some love in a post as well. The outfit release all manner of abrasive, extreme and heavy music, with bands running the geographical gamut from Australia, to India and Dubai. Their genre classifications are usually focused on black metal but they range into wherever good music is played. Playing into their strengths, they recently reached out to us regarding an Australian band called Somnium Nox who managed to grab their attention with their released single, “The Alnwick Apotheosis”. Somnium Nox, as displayed on this single, write and play a furious breed of atmospheric black metal and, now that we’ve heard Terra Inanis in full, we wholeheartedly recommend it.
The somber openings of the track belie its ultimate trajectory; as ethereal as they are, so the rest of it is aggressive. The intro soon explodes into impressive blastbeats, punctuated by shrieks and massive guitar chords. This movement can also describe the other two tracks on the record (bringing the release to other half an hour of play time, giving you a sense of how long the tracks are) as the interplay between ethereal vibes, tremolo picked backing riffs and crushing flourishes informs most of what the album does. The long, drawn out intro of this track, with its samples of thunderstorm in the background, is a good example of how the band skillfully weave those depths right after the aggressive heights of the track, creating an overall creepy and oppressive atmosphere (hence, atmospheric black metal).
All in all, it’s a convincing and impressive black metal release, dredging both the depths of oppression the genre is known for and the loftiest expressions of exaggerated emotion. It’s also another promising releasing from Transcending Obscurity, further cementing the label’s stake in the world of extreme metal. Do yourself and pre-order the above album (releases on the 15th of May) via the band’s Bandcamp and check out the label’s website here. You won’t regret doing either.