Review: Ninth Realm--Damnation's Veil (CD/LP) (2026 Transcending Obscurity Records)

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10/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS

A lot of folks first hear the thrash and hardcore in Ninth Realm's influences, but I hear and feel the death metal in their sound more than anything. For me, this is a death metal record. I can detect exactly what the other reviewers are hearing, there is plenty of both thrash and hardcore in Ninth Realm's repertoire, and I love that aspect of them, but this album is pissed off in a way that only death metal will allow. Take a song like "Imbued in Hellfire," or "Rituals in Thar'amath," for example. These are pure death metal epics with thrashing riffs! The band defies easy classification, to be sure, and that's what I like so much about them. It's just good, aggressive heavy metal. The guitars really shine during the solo work. There's some real talent in this band, to say nothing of their songwriting chops. This is quite the accessible album for being an extreme metal record, with hooks galore and catchy riffs everywhere. It's just a record that all metalists need to hear, and I'm giving it perfect marks.

Serpent Corpse--Retaliate (CD/10") (2025 Transcending Obscurity Records)

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8/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS

Again I must say it. I really enjoy some of the bands infusing death metal with metallic hardcore, especially when the riffs are as good as Serpent Corpse's. It strips down the death metal to bare bones and adds catchiness and aggression to an already aggressive musical form. Serpent Corpse welds Merauder-style hardcore riffs to a '90s death metal chassis and the net result is a catchy, heavy, solid piece of death metal with aggressive riffs and a ton of attitude. The vocals remind me quite a bit of Entombed in their early days, with that same yelled roar and tone that LG Petrov had. These four songs are well written and a fun listen, and the band even dips their toes into melody here and there for an extra twist, especially during guitar solos. I definitely want to hear more from this band, so I'll probably look into their back catalog, and I'll eagerly await more material.

Goreworm--Miasmic Solitude (CD) (2026 Transcending Obscurity Records)

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6/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS

From Canada comes this technical death metal juggernaut with this second record, and first for Transcending Obscurity. There is a fucking lot going on here. You have arpeggios, blasts, plenty of melodic playing, and occasionally straight up brutality. These are world-class musicians playing intricate and precise death metal that will boggle you but not lose you while they do. One thing Goreworm does well that not many technical death metal bands do is create actual decent songs with enough repetition to keep you listening rather than just trying to figure out what the fuck is actually going on in the music. Vocally, the singer uses just about every type of growl and scream imaginable, and his style fits the band well. The vocal patterns have to deal with some wild musicianship, so they're not very catchy, but they're more than ok in the long run. Unfortunately, all the technicality takes away from the heaviness, and that's what I want out of death metal. I want it to be heavy, gross, unforgiving, and intense. Goreworm doesn't have the traits I like in death metal bands. That doesn't stop me from recognizing this album as a musical achievement, however, as it most certainly is.

Thorn--Nebulous Womb of Eternity (CD/LP/CS) {2025 Transcending Obscurity Records}

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6/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS

I am the first to admit that I really don't care for doom death, as the slower tempos bore me stupid. When I saw Thorn was billed as doom death, I wondered if I should even review the record since the chances of me disliking it was so high. I need not have worried. There's plenty of mid-paced and faster material here to keep my interest, at least somewhat. The riffs are big and chunky for the most part, super heavy examples of what death metal riffing can be with a little groove in it. The vocals are especially enjoyable, a huge deep roar that sounds demonic and monstrous, very similar to old Grave. What I don't like is the use of dissonant riffs here and there in certain songs. I've always been turned off by that. I see no point to it. I also found the songs to wander a bit and meander too much for my tastes. Overall, if you want strong mid-paced death metal, this is for you, if you can tolerate a few dissonant riffs. 

Enragement "Extinguish All Existence" (Review)

Enragement Extinguish All Existence

2025 Transcending Obscurity Records (CD/LP)

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8/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS

This is dense death metal with a lot going on in each song, with quite a bit of technicality but not enough to be accused of wankery by yours truly. There are plenty of hooks in their songs if you pay enough attention and give it multiple listens (since they go by quickly), and their riffs are truly unique and brutal. They embellish those riffs with little runs and sweeps a lot like the way Dying Fetus does, not that they're similar at all. They also know how to be purely heavy, like on the song "Parasitic Ingress," which shows them trading in their trademark speed for crushing grooves. The vocals range from an Angelcorpse-like reptilian rasp to a deep guttural and everything in between. Vocally, this is just as masterful as the rest of the playing on the record. The guitar solos are also virtuosic, and they seem like magic to me, the guitarists acting as wizards playing their sonic spells of death. Brutal death metal fans need this record in their collection, it should be mandatory.

Shrieking Demons "The Festering Dwellers" (Review)

Shrieking Demons The Festering Dwellers

2025 Transcending Obscurity Records (CD)

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5/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS

Ah, Italy. It used to be the land of power and progressive metal. Maybe it still is. Here, however, is some 90s style death metal for your ass. This is their first full length, and it's not bad. It does nothing badly, but it's not making me sit up and listen attentively, either. They do have amazing guitar solos, however, good enough that one the first one hit I immediately made a note of it. I just wish their riffs were as good as the solos. The riffs them selves are a tad boring and same-sounding. Let me reiterate, though, that there's nothing wrong with this album. It's perfectly ok death metal, but it's just ok. Other than the solos there's nothing at all that grabs me and makes me pay attention. Cool fucking cover and logo, though, I'll give them that!

Abyssalis "Adaptation" (Review)

Abyssalis Adaptation

2025 Transcending Obscurity Records (CD)

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6/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS

This is wickedly technical brutality, and with a monster of a vocalist that has perfected a rapid-fire delivery over top the quick twists and turns of the music. There is melody and guitar harmony in all the madness here, and it's quite original sounding. This is a little too technical for me, really, although I really enjoy when they take a moment and inject some heaviness or melody into the tornado of tech death. Fans of 2000s technical death metal like Necrophagist may be enamored with this release. Clearly this band is immensely talented and I have no idea how in the world they remember how to play stuff this complex. I'm sure it's not easy! I could listen to this for the vocals alone, however, since the vocalist is sick as fuck, with his deep-chested roars and the ability to rattle off words like a machine gun. This is worth your time if you're into the technical side of death metal.

Ritual Fog "But Merely Flesh" (Review)

Ritual Fog But Merely Flesh

2024 Transcending Obscurity Records (CD/LP/CS)

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8/10 CRUSHED FUCKING SKULLS

From Tennessee comes this crew with rolling, pounding death metal that focuses on heavy over all else, bringing the darkness and horror that a band like this should. The rebirth of true death metal as a more sought-after musical form is something I look at with trepidation sometimes, since a lot of mediocre efforts are being churned out, but then I hear a band like Ritual Fog and I'm on board 100%. Musically, this is reminiscent of 1990s death metal, with morbid solos like old Obituary, and mostly mid-range yelled growls in the vocal department that remind me of Entombed or especially Desultory. The riffs are excellent, crushingly heavy, and the heavy bass and thundering drums (with a good, deep snare sound) back up the guitars perfectly. This band can hold their own with the modern frontrunners of the genre like Molder without batting an eye. Every song is a perfect example of truly heavy fucking death metal. These guys could be big. Side note: the cover is awesome - it fits the music perfectly.

Crawl "Altar of Disgust" (Review)

Crawl Altar of Disgust

2024 Transcending Obscurity Records

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From Sweden comes this group of miscreants, plying their metallic trade in the same fashion as the death gods of old! HM-2s get cranked up to chainsaw on this one, and since I'm a complete sucker for the "Swedish" sound, I'm all in. It helps that the album has a hefty serving of d-beat punk in it, amping up the energy level of the death metal on offer here.

Stylistically, think Grave, Dismember, Carnage, but especially Entombed on this one. Even the vocals remind me a little of LG Petrov's. Someone needs to carry on his legacy, so it might as well be Crawl. The punchy bass drum sound helps out the guitars, the solidness of them shining through the distortion of the guitars and roaring vocals. Each song has a heavy-ass thrash riff in it that begs you for movement, whether snapping your neck to the beat, or tossing your body into the crowd. 

This is a worthy record in an over-saturated specific death metal sound, and while some may argue we don't need another Swedish-style death metal band, I have to say this band is doing it well enough and memorably enough to stand with the legends. Time will tell if they're mentioned in the same breath as the elder gods of the scene, but I have a feeling there will at least be respect on their name.