Ageless Oblivion - Temples Of Transcendent Evolution

Published February 02 2011

*=Staff's pick	Monument Reclamation* Time Of The Empty Throne Detatchable Faceplate Drone Of The Nychomist* Unhallowed Domain* Mycora Temples

Genre	Progressive Death Metal	Stephen	Vocals
Tracks	8	David	Guitar
Runningtime	41 Min.	Christofer	Guitar
Label	Siege Of Amida	Sam	Bass
Release	7 February 2011	Richard	Drums
Country	England	-	Keyboard
Producer	Chris Fielding
Similar artists	Nile, Neurosis

Progressive deathsters Ageless Oblivion's debut is a happy surprise. In general I tend to be drawn to bands whose label, in this case excellent Siege Of Amida, is showcasing the band as a technical progressive death metalband like a bear to fresh meat. Sometimes you get disappointed, sometimes not. In the case of Temples Of Transcendent Evolution you get a solid album. Playingwise these are not amateurs we are dealing with - all playing and singing are executed with brilliance - as expected I might add.

The songwriting side is also very strong, and I feel that Ageless Oblivion has a expressing of their own. They aren't afraid to bring out the truly pummeling playing in true Nile-fashion, but they also make sure that they give the listener opportunities to catch the breath without compromising with the intensity of the music. Drone Of The Nychomist is a good example of this fact. I'm most impressed by songs as Reclamation and Unhallowed Domain that turn up the intensity to the max.

If there are any weak spots on the record those are demonstrated by opener Monument and the overly long rain and thunder outro on Temples. Although I can appreciate a good intro at a concert, I simply think that they have no place on a record - it's better if the band write a "proper" song instead. Monument hasn't deterred me from this view.

These objections aside - Ageless Oblivion has produced a fine album, and I'm really looking forward to follow the band in the future.

Performance	Originality	Production	Vocals	Songwriting
8	6	7	7	7

Summary
7 chalices of 10 - Martin