VORGA is a German black metal band who formed in 2016; "Striving Toward Oblivion," is their debut full length album, in addition to having released an EP in 2019. VORGA's searing brand of sci-fi themed black metal also happens to be very atmospheric.  Their sound is as exploratory as it is dangerous—this is the musical equivalent to an adventure in the uncharted expanse of space.  That curiosity and desire to discover exists within their music but so does the danger and apprehension of the unknown.

Another layer to their music is their total willingness to be melodic as they are cold.  The bleak blackness of space is well represented here but so are plenty of melodic passages that help make their bleak outlook even more enjoyable because their grasp of mixing the melodic with the black is catchy and will bury itself in your head for days.  When the band settles into a groove and fires all cylinders, they become nearly unstoppable. The production helps out with the album's style too—it isn't too rough or clean.  It is open enough to allow their sound to show through but closed off enough that isn't too shiny for the style and they lose the aggressive magic on display here.

Each song has something within it that makes it memorable.  That "something" might be a blackened scream, a melodic guitar lick, a riff or a drum kick.  Regardless of what it may be, these little moments stand as monument to their songwriting skills to make each moment matter. "Starless Sky," is immediately rousing—furious riffs with equally furious melodic leads ripping through it all.  The vocals are towering—these blackened shrieks are pulled straight from the edge of eternal coldness and shot forward like a dart to pierce. Around the 1:30 mark, the riffs descend down while the vocals pour out—a short but intense moment.  Or so I thought.  The riffs rumble onward as do the vocals—this song begins intense but keeps piling it on.

"Disgust," is a more somber approach to their sound and it proves to be highly effective as this is one of my favorites on the album.  Despite the doomy back drop, the riffs retain their righteous rage yet become slightly melodic in places, never resting too long on each style but confident enough to move around through both of them. A wonderful combination of brutal and epic story telling hits around the 3:40 mark.  It is raw and powerful yet soaring....music that pummels while sparking the imagination.  Absolutely love it!

"Stars My Destination," begins as if the journey had already begun.  But instead of sounding incomplete, it is as if a big decision as been made and finality put into unstoppable, perpetual motion.  The only thing left to is succumb to it.  And succumb I did to what is one of the album's best songs.  The melodic riffs here are outstanding as are the drums which kind the journey the entire way. The middle part of the song echoes some of the melodies from the beginning but this time it is straight up black metal riffage.  The ending of the song sees the vocals being screamed over the roar of the band as it all swirls together.

The final track, "Death Manifesting" is a banger!  The lead guitar and vocals compliment each other despite each of them representing a different extreme of the band's sound.  The bass and rhythm guitar straight up hammer the main beat of the song into submission...whip lash in outer space?  The passage from 3:38 to 4:16 is pervasive and hypnotic—unrelenting in a way that didn't seem like it was going to end and I mean that in a good way. VORGA's "Striving Toward Oblivion," is a strikingly well written black metal album with an exceptional balance between pure raw power and softer edges.  One's impending doom has never sounded so good.