Transcendent Barrier Drop A Massive Sludge Record

A massive new release from Transcendent Barrier delivers a whirlwind of deepening sludge rock and metal blended with elements of stoner and doom everywhere, and this record delivers such intense sonic drive that it's impossible to turn away from.

One of my favorite aspects about this entire record has to be the riffs. The guitar work on this thing is just gigantic and they come through with a punchy but grueling guitar tone throughout the entire record, with a bass guitar tone to follow.

This whole thing hits like a sucker punch to the gut but also swallows you up at the same time so it's immensely fun, especially if you love doom and sludge rock.

The record is simply called Doomed, and it certainly doesn't waste much time getting straight to the point with the first track "Orbitless Grave" which comes in with a whipping guitar riff and what feels like drop B or even drop C tuning.

Having the tuning that low really helps the rumbly sludgy effect and that's what this is all about.

Now, the guitar work opens up quite a lot and branches off in different directions throughout songs.

The vocals are really intense and follow suit in terms of bringing on a high octane sort of energy when it's needed.

The vocals can be both melodic and fierce, fiery, gritty, they're screaming, but there's also a lot of sections during that screaming as well.

I think that the vocals, to me, let this record feel almost theatrical, in a sense.

They bring with them a whole new texture and add such impactful layers to the songs and everything is just blistering when all put together.

Now, you can hear all kinds of other influences under their belt. There's alternative rock, there's hardcore, there's all kinds of other stuff involved and strewn about, laced in with the doom and sludge metal and rock.

I definitely love the drumming on this record.

The drummer absolutely smashes everything. The crash symbols are always just destructive, the kick drum cuts through everything on the record which is exactly how it should be, and I feel like a lot of the band pushes off of that particular kind of energy.

As a matter of fact, one of my favorite things about the entire album is this almost live performance kind of aesthetic that they deliver.

It feels like they recorded this entire thing live on the floor and everyone involved was just feeding off of each other's energy the entire time.

Of course, I wasn't there so I don't know how they recorded it, but it certainly feels like that.

It's like a synergistic thing. At any rate, listening to this record makes you want to go see them perform a lot because if they can capture that aesthetic and energy on record so well, then seeing them live must be a real face melter.

That of course is exactly what I would expect and want when I go see a Bend like this.

What's probably my favorite track on the record is called "Noctambulist" which is a massive single spanning over 8 minutes in length, then again there are a few of those on the release, and really just showcases how they do indeed pull different influences into the mix.

This one not only features a lot of the deep-rooted tones and heavy-handed riffs, but some augmented stuff and veers in different directions, which I really enjoyed.

This whole album was relentless. It brought with it such a unique and palpable sonic presence, that you could feel it in your bones.

I strongly suggest listening to this record all the way through, in one shot.

It is absolutely one of the best ways to do it so that you can really take it all in.

It's much more of a full experience this way.

I also suggest listening to it nice and loud or even with headphones on because then you can really soak in all the layers of heaviness, texture, and tone.

This is a brutal one so dive in and be ready to go deep.

Don't forget where you heard it first.

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