Transcending Obscurity Records is an Indian label found in 2013 and it is specialized in signing new and active bands mostly from the extreme metal categories. This underground Indian label is the most growing label in Asia to export their products to U.S. soil including worldwide shipping and online store. This may be the successful year for Transcending Obscurity Records since they’re releasing some interesting albums from bands like Gearea, Lurk, Depravity, Down among the Dead including Nigredo and Paganizer. Yet another worthy band was added to the Transcending Obscurity Records roster is the Swedish death metal band Crawl who has released their first album entitled Rituals. Earlier this year we saw two big releases from Swedish death metal acts like Demonical and Lik.

But let me clarify this to you by saying that this new band doesn’t have the same mentality of reproducing the old riffs of Entombed or Dismember. The band neither intends to mimic the same repetitive style or tries to imitate other musical groups, in fact Crawl has found their true origin and identity. Though they are musically affiliated to the old school death metal style, the Swedish group who include ex-members of Demonical, Discarnate and the vocalist of Swedish death metal band Decomposed joined forces and forged a filthy slab of old school death metal. Rituals consists of nine solid tracks achieved and constituted with adequate models of old school death metal without sounding identical to any death metal band from Sweden. While having some particular qualities they have basically injected the old school sound with elements of crust/punk metal. There are some subtle differences from Entombed. Reject The Cross reminds of Vallenfyre guitar style, the guitar tone sound very fuzzy with heavy and thick distortion. Breathing Violence and The Stench have visceral and brutal vibes, the buzz-sawing guitar is triggered with HM-2 distortion to maintain the old school sound.

Don’t get me wrong here this is not melodic Gothenburg death metal, what you will hear is nothing but utter madness and barbarity with no musical ornaments to be traced in their debut musical endeavor. The sharp guitar riffs are amplified with robust sound waves, blending death metal with crust punk was certainly a witty move from this band. Black Ritual is one of the tracks that has an energetic punk vibe, the drums are possessively brutal. There are no melodies here or powerful choruses just straight forward death metal delivered in its most barbaric and brutal nature. Crawl prefers to write short tracks most of the songs fall under 2-3 minutes yet the album has a varied tempo of mid pacing riffs, the guitar tone is absolutely aggressive and performed with sheer brutality, backed by the monstrous grunts of the vocalist.

The tracks have a hostile sensation of sounding antagonist and brutal bringing some buzz-sawing riffs in tracks like Sentenced to Rot and Cowards that contains an extra surge of crust/punk metal blow. Coven of Servants is a total Entombed worship track and it is the longest track on this album falling under five minutes. This is a great album done accurately in the style of the classic albums like Clandestine and Like an Ever Flowing Stream, although the album duration falls under 25 minutes but Crawl has succeeded in accomplishing a killer album, finally this is an authentic old school Swedish death metal done right!

Release Date : August 20th, 2018
Label : Transcending Obscurity Records
Track listing :
1.Reject the Cross
2.Breathing Violence
3.The Stench
4.Black Ritual
5.Trail of Traitors
6.Sentenced to Rot
7.Cowards
8.Suffer
9.Coven of Servants