Hailing from Los Angles, California in the United States comes forth the death metal band, TRANSCENDENCE. The project formed in 2013, and has released a demo, two EPs and a full length album, "Towards Obscurities And Beyond," which was just released this year. The album explores the stylistic choices once displayed by pioneer bands in a reformulation of a modern context. The drums guide much of the piece in fluidity, and the bass holds the musicality of much the piece. Though the album began in a complex and striking manner, the notes lost its tone and gained formality as an unsettling rhythm continued throughout the pieces. Whilst they did not stray far from their original ideas, their originality and performance was lost in entropy and musical jargon.

In "Infernal Resurrection," the bass moves through a vast land, and the cymbal strikes. In a dynamic outtake, guitars are exceptionally layered and placed around the simplicities of the voice, that change in pitch and speed. As the song progresses, the notes evolve drastically, never ceasing to a confined plane or distinction for the project. The drums double kick, and the guitars are emphasized with bass patterns similar to pioneer bands like MORBID ANGEL or even ENTOMBED in some riffs. The inventive formulation of the music renders thoughtfulness and intensive planning, though still leaving spaces for differentiation. The piece breaks down a bit to a bass-centered rhythm with the lead guitar floating majestically above this. For an introduction, I am left with a sense of surprise and elegance, as the project unveils a creation that is tangible and effective.

Mimicking the similar pioneer style previously, "Majesty Of Chaos" organizes its beginning with a fascinating drum makeup. However, this may not work with their previously held stylistic choices. Again, the empowered guitars with bass drives the piece in melody, and the voice growls as this occurs. Energetic, the rhythm echoes through the highs and lows of the guitar scales. The pitch shifts, and the notes bleed into one another creating an impasse that cannot be destroyed. Though much of this is repetitive, the song does not cease to disfigure their process just yet.

Thunderstorms and rain pattering noises encompass the start of "Towards Obscurities Beyond," as middle-eastern styled guitars resound through this. It is harmonious and empowering, though I am not quite as certain if this piece is an irregularity in the scenery. The voice becomes atmospheric in its growls, while the double kick speedily travels on. Though not too much evolution happens with their notes, they adhere to a general format similar to the previous track. It is entropic, but melodious.

In a similar key represented in the previous piece, "As The Maggots Feast" feels as though a lengthened continuation. As the bass emphasizes the guitars, the guitars create a high-pitched riff that flows over the monotony. As the song progresses further, the instrumentals gain a mind of their own, acting as a separate entity to the whole. The drums shift in tempo to a more punk-beat as the voice growls dampeningly. A break in the song reveals a solo guitar resembling middle eastern scales once more, which is later reworked into the song. A woman's soft voice talks through a part of the piece so jarring and strangely placed, that I wonder the reason for this awkward decision.

Reverberating synths begin "Drowned Screams Of The Departed Soul." An acoustic guitar delicately plays into the night, with the synths accompanying the notes. This gets broken down when the drums settle in, and the electric guitars take hold. This transition was rather abrupt, and does not add much to the surrounding notes. As the song moves forward, a guitar solo is depicted, yet it feels unmixed and rather playful rather than dignified. The song ends quite standoffish, and though the acoustics were a fascinating take, this particular piece adds no meaning to their format.

"And Darkness Shall Be" resembles the non-layered aspects of the previous piece as the guitars slowly, and without a specified pace, carry the song into the depths. An abrupt shift makes for an un-whimsical transition. The drums beat in space and become less grounded as the guitars move its notes up and down a scale. This overpowers, and the voice becomes somewhat subdued, as a repetition of bass notes are heard. This seems to be merely a filler piece rather than an addition piece.

The previous song flows into "Ravens Of The Burial,"  which mimics styles presented at the beginning of the album. Guitars with echoed bass fathom a rhythm and melody that is easier and melodious to follow. The guitars seamlessly branch off into varying directions off of its lower notes it had presented, to high pitched overflows underneath the security of the darkened and high pitched voices. This is then shifted to more abrupt moves, and the music carries on with ease as if nothing had occurred prior. A pleasant guitar riff is featured before this too is lost in the waves of monotonous chaos they have begun to compose. Bells chime unenthusiastically.

As if a reformation of the jargon previously, "In Silent Procession" continues on the same data frame. Guitars tremolo pick, and the drums beat without much emphasis on certain notes rather than others. The voices scream in an echo of their dull rhythm. A breakdown occurs and there is a sudden shift in tone. It is quite the same as the other pieces few moments of differentiation between them.

TRANSCEDENCE's "Towards Obscurities Beyond," is a journey of patchworked death metal stylistic choices woven together by drum and bass patterns. Though at times the pieces was whimsically intelligent, I felt as though the album downgraded significantly from their first track to their ending track. "Infernal Resurrection" was the most multi-faceted and dynamic piece from the album, and though the following songs were well-written musically, they did not add any extra layers as did the first. By the end of the album, it began so repetitive, awkwardly jarring, and relatively unenthusiastic that I lost the band's original voice it had begun with.