Transcend into Oblivion

Empire of the Scourged call themselves an avant-garde industrial death metal band. For once, a band has categorized themselves with a certain degree of accuracy. With Transcend Into Oblivion they set a path forward which is sure to grab the attention of death metal fans and industrial fans a like. Their presentation is modern and sharp and visually gripping. The cover art for Transcend is a welcome change from the gore-obsessed and it's subtle innuendo is just extreme as the most viscera-splattered decomposing twelve-year old covered in excrement. Gas masks in a field of daisies somewhere on the Eastern Front as the crows fly overhead all drenched in a bloody crimson. It sounds bland and lame, yes, but it's actually far from having the feel of some deathcore band with an indecipherable witty name. It ties well to the music which is also sharp, stylized and unashamedly modern. The industrial elements tie into the death metal well, create unique textures and an interesting listen.


Opening track, "Der Wanderer Uber Dem Nebelsee," the only German titled track on this EP, sets off the listen rather adequately. The siren in the intro, though it connects with the imagery of the release, is too mundane for this recording, especially with the creative use of chirps, synthesizer noises, samples and general textural adventurism which is evidenced throughout the track. Some clean vocals are hidden in a memorable interlude section which might last too long. "Hollow Machinations of the Foul Spirited" is a heavier track, layered with eerie keys and thick tremolo guitar riffs and is similar in many ways to final track "A Scarred Horizon" which also is the most death metal centered song on on the release. The songs are heavy, fast and have a lot of unique ideas thrown into them. With the standout identifier for Empire of the Scourged in these track still being the industrial aspects, I think that the band needs to figure out when to let loose without the keys and without the samples. Songs like these, death metal and grind at their heart, would be served well by allowing some riffs to breathe while using the alienesque tones and textures of the synthesizers to emphasize and highlight and select moments.

"Trapped In This Massive Process" is probably my favorite track on the release due to the integration of all the elements that Empire of the Scourged attempt to pull into their sound. It's the most realized example of what I would like to hear on a full length. It's decisively death metal tinged with grindcore and split with industrial segments that invoke the experience of being on an assembly line where bodies are being pulled apart and reconfigured as eyes and brains are kept functioning through mechanical and unnatural methods. With the track leading into the nightmarish "Foul Machinations of a Hollow Spirit," somehow connected to the similarly named second track, these are the best moments. Hammered piano keys, female vocals and atonal textural percussion parts come into each others range and collide head on with the death metal drumming and guitar riffs. These two tracks emphasize what Empire of the Scourged do best with this release - the industrial soundscapes. While the death metal components are acceptable, this would sound very disjointed without the samples and synthesizers providing avenues for the riffs to meet each other. Even within the chaos, Empire need to make sure their songs follow some sort of composition which makes them sound more like songs and less like riffs and samples pasted over each other. Transcend Into Oblivion isn't bad at all but you can tell that this is still project finding their footing.

Originally written for Contaminated Tones.

One day I was contacted by someone from completely unknown band called Empire of the Scourged if I would like to check and maybe also review this band’s newest recording, which was an EP titled “Transcend into Oblivion”. Well, I said yes, why not and so soon I got this material on CD. And as always, also here I must say that it is great to find a new band, obviously if only their music is cool… Luckily, I can say that the music of Empire of the Scourged is interesting and worth checking out. At the same time I need to add that my first impression was not the best, but that’s because I have listened to this CD on not the best equipment, so I was losing a lot of the aggression and all what is going on this album. Finally though when I have started to listen to “Transcend into Oblivion” at home, on my normal stereo, my impression was way, way better. But this EP is not an easy material and I suppose that Empire of the Scourged may get as many followers and enemies. Why?

Well, the reason is obvious. While the basis of “Transcend into Oblivion” is death metal, Empire of the Scourged has increased their sound with lots of industrial sounds or cosmic sounding keyboards, so their music has very mechanical sound and kind of inhuman feeling, in some way… For some it will sound then just too plastic and sterile, for some it will be not brutal enough and some other will even call it disco / techno death metal. So this is why I think that “Transcend into Oblivion” will bring many various opinions and it’s also why I think this material is not an easy listen. But saying that I must also mention that I’ve listened to this EP with great interest and actually found it very enjoyable. You know, Empire of the Scourged tries to come up with something different and original and that’s good. And the fact that they use a lot of keyboards, drum machine and even have some female vocals in few places doesn’t mean that the music is not aggressive and has no atmosphere… Here the atmosphere is not about the horror or gore, but more like cosmic sci-fi kind of thing. And it is cool. I like that diversity in this music and how they blend these so different styles. Interestingly I can spot that Empire of the Scourged has also some black metal influences here and there, like for example when they blend growling with harsh, more black metal kind of screaming… But generally this is just great, extreme music. And as such I can recommend you checking out this band, if you’re more open minded kind of maniac