Transcendence's "Towards Obscurities Beyond" CD is a melodic death metal album inspired by 1990s Swedish death and black metal, but with a modern and powerful sound. Its balance of raw and polished production, solid songwriting, and dynamic tempo changes have earned it praise for its consistency and ability to create a captivating atmosphere, drawing us in with its blend of black, death, and melodic elements. It pays homage to the classic sound of bands like Dissection and Exhumation, but with a modern twist. The album combines mid-paced sections with faster, blastbeat-driven moments, which keeps the music captivating. The album's ability to create a dark and fantastical atmosphere, immersing us in its world. The balance between raw and polished production allows the band's musicianship to shine. At approximately 38 minutes in length, the album is considered a powerful and impactful listen, avoiding unnecessary repetition or filler.
Dishumanized started in 2017 as a solo project of Tyrolean musician Harald Berger, who has made a name for himself in the Austrian metal scene in the past through his work as a lyricist and songwriter for bands such as "Diabolic Voices", "Zerofour" and "Deathplagued". After a few singles, the first full-length album "The Maze of Solitude" was released in 2023, which met with an extremely positive response from fans and critics alike. Since it was Harry's wish from the beginning to bring the project to the stage, he decided to hire some musician friends for future live gigs shortly after the release of the album. Fortunately, all of his preferred candidates were immediately available and highly motivated.
Harald Berger (Lead Guitar & Vocals)
After his first steps as a Drumer in the Bands "Ascension" and "Slender", Harry switched to guitar and joined the Death Metal Band "Diabolic Voices", witch later became "Zerofour". From 2008 to 2011 he was also part of the Death Metal Band "Deathplagued". Since 2017 his main focus is "Dishumanized".
Patrick Kösslbacher (Bass)
Patrick "Pati" Kösslbacher from Lienz, started his musical journey with "Legacy of Sorrow", and played in some great bands like "Relinquished", "Deathplagued" and "In Somnia"! He is also part of the beloved Deutschrock band "Schedelweiss".
Wolfgang Hauser (Rhythm Guitar)
Wolfgang "Wonga" Hauser, who - like Harry - comes from Virgen made a name for himself in the Austrian underground in the past with his participation in the Brutal Death Metal Band "Carnal Mutilation".
Michael Oberwalder (Drums)
Michael ‘Michi’ Oberwalder, originally from St.Jakob in Defereggen now linving in Heinfels began his career as a drummer with “Hellstorm” and “Scapegoat”, and later founded “Carnal Mutilation” together with “Wonga”.
T: Why does the name Dishumanized have any special meaning?
H: The name is very important it’s a synonym for the entire concept. Humanity has become completely disconnected from nature and unbelievably cruel to animals. We’re destroying our own living space, and that’s the dumbest thing any species could possibly do. No animal would ever be that stupid! Every great idea whether it’s rooted in technology, religion, or anything else somehow ends up being misused by mankind: to control, to manipulate, to destroy. That’s a dishumanized society. But there are people out there who still feel that something is deeply wrong. And I hope my lyrics might reach a few more of them.
T: How did you decide to create the band and why?
H: I’ve loved music especially metal for as long as I can remember. It was always my dream to write my own songs and lyrics. Since the mid-90s, I played in various bands, but after a few really frustrating experiences with band breakups and internal conflicts, I actually wanted to quit. Still, I couldn’t live without music especially the creative process of songwriting, which I missed as an outlet and emotional release. So in 2017, I founded Dishumanized as a solo project.
T: What influences did the band have from the beginning?
H: Musically, the main influences were always thrash and death metal mostly the American stuff. Slayer, Exodus, Testament, and all those early Florida death metal heroes. But i don’t believe in boundaries. The closing track on our debut album, for example, was kind of a mixture of Rammstein, Pink Floyd, and blackened death metal at least in my mind.
T: How much time do you dedicate to music in your life?
H: As much as I can with a wife, two kids, two dogs, and a full-time job, boredom definitely isn’t the problem, haha. But like I said, music is a huge part of my life. I’m totally obsessed with it! I’m constantly writing riffs and lyrics in my head it never really stops.
T: What are your musical influences? What is the music you listen to the most?
H: "My first musical influences were bands like AC/DC, Iron Maiden, and Queen. But it didn’t take long before I discovered Metallica and Slayer and from there, I went straight into the really heavy stuff like Suffocation and Cannibal Corpse. But I also love Elvis, Pink Floyd, Limp Bizkit, Dubstep and Movie Scores. Most of the time though, I’m listening to thrash and death metal. I love the raw energy and often meaningful lyrics of thrash and the sheer technicality and intensity of well-crafted death metal."
T: How has the process of recording your CD."The Maze of Solitude" been?
H: Oh, that was a wild ride. I started with a single in 2017, then another in 2018. Since I did everything myself including programming the drums it took forever. I actually planned to release the album in 2020, but then COVID hit... you know the rest. In the end, it was late 2023 when I finally released it. I recorded everything at the studio of my great friend Andreas Maierhofer from the band My Dark Fate but it's a three-hour drive for me, so it wasn’t exactly easy.
T: How much time do you dedicate to the composition and structure of an album like The Maze of Solitude?
H: I really took my time with it over three years, actually. I probably spent just as much time on the lyrics, concept, and artwork as on the music. Maybe even more. The meaning behind the project is really important to me. Let’s be honest every riff, every melody, every drumbeat in thrash or death metal has already been written. The only way to create something truly personal is through your voice and your lyrics. The Maze of Solitude deals with smartphone addiction, COVID, digital slavery... all of which are fresh and highly relevant topics today.
T: Your band sound is very special with extreme sounds and old-school elements of thrash and death metal or how would you define it?
H: Oh, thank you that’s exactly how I hope it sounds! The new stuff will be even heavier. Musically, variety is what matters most to me. A lot of newer bands just repeat the same song structures over and over that’s really boring.
T: What difference do you find between the style and sound your band had at the beginning and now? Any difference?
H: Definitely. Now that we’re a full band, things are changing. After the album was released, I started looking for a live lineup to play the songs and luckily, I found great people. We’re already working on a new album now together. Our drummer and our guitarist both come from an extreme death metal background, so things are getting a lot heavier. If The Maze of Solitude was mostly thrash with death metal influences, the new one might be the other way around.l
T: What significance does the cover of The Maze of Solitude represent, and who is in charge of the art?
H: The cover as I mentioned before is extremely important for me. The visual art, the lyrics, and the concept are deeply connected. The cover should provoke thought and invite personal interpretation. At its core, the monolith in the center represents the smartphone a dark, towering, all-consuming presence. The figures around it represent society’s blind dependence on technology. And the man in the front, who can’t take it anymore, stands for all those who still feel, who still resist, but are on the edge of going insane! The artwork was drawn by Silvio Hauser (Instagram: @moleguts_tattoo), a professional tattoo artist and the brother of our guitarist.
T: What do you think about the current underground metal scene in your country Lienz, Tyrol?
H: I think the metal scene in East Tyrol, where I live, is picking up again. There was a rough period when it wasn’t in high demand and then COVID shut everything down. But since 2023, things have been looking good again. There are some great local bands like Hard Excess, In Somnia, Inner Enemy, Putrid, and Circuit of Agony. And there are also many great musicians playing in cover bands across all genres. There’s a lot of talent and potential in the region.
T: What honest metal underground bands and zines from South America do you know?
H: Sorry I don’t think I know any.
T: Would you like to come and play in South America, or have you already been offered to do so? And in which countries would you like to play?
H: Oh no that’s not possible. We all have full-time jobs and families. It’s a hobby. A really great hobby! But still, it’s just a hobby. If we get to play a few shows in Austria, that’s amazing. Maybe Germany or Italy but I wouldn’t want to drive 10 hours to a gig, and I hate flying haha. So that’s about it and honestly, that’s totally fine.
T: Was it an independent production, the making of your CD."The Maze of Solitude"?
H: Oh yes completely independent. And to be honest, that’s how I like it, and how it’s going to stay. I wouldn’t be happy with a label telling me what to do. This is about creative freedom and a meaningful message, you know? I have friends who’ve had really bad experiences with labels some don’t even own their own albums anymore. They’ve been told to write a melodic hit song or other crap like that. I’m a very stubborn guy none of that would work with me.
T: What is the band preparing for its immediate future?
H: We’re working on our second album hopefully ready by winter 2025/26 And we hope to play some small, cool shows with great friends and fans. That’s all we want. The most important thing is fun and freedom. I currently play in three bands (I’ve also been a member of Switchback sincp 2012 and Pentagon since 2016), and there’s no negativity in any of them. I’ve had such bad experiences in the past thgat I would leave or shut down any project immediately if that kind of shit ever started again!
T: Thank you very much for your time in answering the interview for our more than 219,000 visitors of "The Legion Of TchorT 'Zine". Any last words for our readers? Where can our readers get merchandise from your band?
H: We collaborate with a great little shop in our city. It’s called Monotonous, and it’s run by our friend Moreno and his lovely partner Caro. There you’ll find our merch along with lots of other great stuff from bands in our region. Just go to www.dishumanized.at there you’ll find the shop and all links to our digital releases. Thank you so much, my friend, for doing all this out of love for music just like me! And many thanks and greetings to all readers and music lovers who took the time to read this. Very much appreciated!
From North Macedonia comes a death sound influenced by thrash. Macedonoa's mother saw this great Vehementor band born. Practitioners of a metal with a renewed sound and very worked with a lot of melody present many of the themes of their album: "Dungeons of Grotesque Symmetry" from the year 2019, and which I can break down below so that later you can decide whether to give them the ok to hear and headbanging. This album was co-made on MurdHer Records in the country of the boot Italy with only 500 limited copies and went on sale specifically on June 24, 2019. Well sharpened guitars and basses, riff worked and very influenced by tup melodic death of yesteryear and in other songs you can hear how the bass always accompanies and they end up executing the most brutal thrash you can imagine. Quite brutal is the performance of the percussion where never a single note that this great drummer gives us can be wasted, and a colossal powerful and very well worked for the guttural, makes it an amalgam of sounds and a compendium of good characteristics as a band that are reflected in a final product that is their record of great invoice. 9 brutal melodic dark themes and extreme enough for the most demanding ears, I can particularly recommend you to be hooked, greetings and metal.
Vienna is the city that embraces the violent thrashers of Mortal Strike. Much violence in each of the songs that make up this great musical plaque that is "For the Loud and the Aggressive" performed on November 29, 11, 2014 Themes make up this long duration and are a frantic dance with death from beginning to end. I do not need to break down songs from the album or recommend any, since it is an album to place and open your best beer, you just have to let it play until the end, while you shake your neck from one side to another. They have some influence from the Germans Tankard and logically take advantage of their physical album to add a cover of them the super classic "Zombie Attack". Austria gives us more and more talent in each style and if you are a true fan of the impossible thrash that you do not enjoy this great band, you will be revitalized and wanting to kick enough skulls after hearing them, guaranteed, health and metal.
Fallen Outcast, the extreme and alternative metal band comes to us with its very particular sound and a rather original proposal something that is appreciated in a world band scenary where many times we can see proposals, without much creativity or do not leave the basics . The disc presented by "Shadows ov the past" contains a characteristic sound of extreme metal but with a very alternative cut that refreshes since you never know that they will show or show you in their next riff an album would say incredible and very virtuous dedicated to Progressive lovers could also say. A voice that is very powerful and characteristic and amazing riff as well as compositions in very brutal leathers with unexpected cuts that make this album exciting to listen to this album completely. Ultimately Poland continues to give us race bands that leave world metal very high and in this case Fallen Outcast is not at all the exception, enjoy this great musical plaque.
Walsrode, Lower Saxony is where Ravager comes from violent and very direct German thrasher since the beginning is an explosive disk. CD."Thrashletic" is a huge record for global thrash metal fans. An under style very practiced in these times by new bands that pay tribute to the old sound and keep the old school of thrash metal alive. Pointy batteries that make you suffer pain and riff on guitars and basses that are extreme but can not and a direct and you get crushing at full speed through your veins. With an ep and two discs in our pocket they are assuring us of the most rabid trash metal future that will continue playing forever.
Thrash, thrash and more thrash is the first thing you feel and breathe when listening to this band and this great album that I now present to you. Munich Bavaria from there is born the "Sacrifice Your Future" a disc that really is a kick in your face from beginning to end frontal and direct, riff wreckers and grumpy strings as sharp as steel itself and a battery as explosive as dynamite itself. I recommend the whole album but songs like: "Cannibal State" that opens the album and other songs like "bleached", "ordinary loser", "demonic levity" among others are sound brutalities. Europe is assured of the original thrasher sound because bands like this that are barely rhythm enjoy this whole album, health metalheads. 2012 sound as legendary as the most veteran of the style, if you want to move the frenetica under the most frenetic.
Carry The Torch excellent thrash death metal band of those that make you enter a frantic dance with the same death whom you will see from the front. The natives of Kalmar and Oland, Sweden sound like a cough a band with great experience, professional sound and great aptitude that is often decisive in this new world of the world metal scene. In July 2019, this musical gem comes to light, a large plate "Obsession" that takes you through thrash passages first, then you can experience the most direct death metal, then you will be impacted by dark but very deep melodies and a sublime union of sounds that make you discharge all your energy and which in turn achieves a sound by relaxing passages and representative of the purest melodic death. Each instrument is executed with a level of excellence and its powerful vocalization predominates and makes the power always present. A formidable album in which it is worth investing money and time you will not be disappointed and surely when you manage to get together with your colleagues it will be a great experience.
Dunkell Reiter thrash maniac of Contagem, Minas Gerais, Brazil, active band since 1995 are not children and know very well that they make music to kick heads and destroy the mosh. Accelerated guitars, violent riffs, drums at a thousand per hour, bass without slowing down and you as the best thrash groups of the late 80's. The album "Unholy Grave" of 2014 is a real piece in the thrash underground world, it was time for a long duration of this band that with so much career only had a demo and three eps behind them. Brazil always brings us bands that for years have represented important achievements within this style worldwide. Dunkell Reiter is: Roberto "Otrebor" Bass, Jonathan Reiter Drums, Rider of Hell Guitars, Assassin Guitars, Vocals Here you can check the set of this huge album: Unholy Grave Be Thrash or Die Eternal Nightmare Evil Never Dies Soldiers of Hell Evil The Mask of Insanity Assassin Thrash bluntly and direct impact, a brutal Dunkell Reiter disc do not lose sight of it.
Drünken Bastards CD. “Motherfucker in the Sky” I should to say if you diehard metal fan so rush for this release of Drünken Bastards! It is a killer band! It is all that we like in the combination of Thrash metal and punk, rough sound, rough vocals, fast tempo and atmosphere of total madness! And don’t forget very cool guitar leads. Though all guitar work is cool it makes you shake your head immediately From the beginning till the end it is enjoyable release the pure rock’n’roll in Motorhead’s vision. Also I could compare Drünken Bastards with a Sodom in a period of their “Till Death Do Us Unite” the same atmosphere of the wild alcoholic fun, ha-ha! And naturally I should to mention early Tankard. So I don’t know why you still reading this buy alcohol, turn Drünken Bastards on as loud as possible and start to fall into madness! Gimme another beeeeeer!!!!!!!!!
Fallen Outcast, the extreme and alternative metal band comes to us with its very particular sound and a rather original proposal something that is appreciated in a world band scenary where many times we can see proposals, without much creativity or do not leave the basics . The disc presented by "Shadows ov the past" contains a characteristic sound of extreme metal but with a very alternative cut that refreshes since you never know that they will show or show you in their next riff an album would say incredible and very virtuous dedicated to Progressive lovers could also say. A voice that is very powerful and characteristic and amazing riff as well as compositions in very brutal leathers with unexpected cuts that make this album exciting to listen to this album completely. Ultimately Poland continues to give us race bands that leave world metal very high and in this case Fallen Outcast is not at all the exception, enjoy this great musical plaque.
Mindreaper death metal and melody and a bit of thrash are the characteristics of this band. Germany continues to provide excellent and brutal bands in all styles. His album "Mirror Construction (... a Disordered World)" is a great and quite aggressive piece where we can see influences of the three styles that mix in a good way in a really correct way, I would say. A lot of melody and very digestible sounds even for those who are not so followers of extreme metal. An album that was published more than a year ago but that remains with great validity within the world metal scene. A lot of virtusism in their strings and in the compositions in general, stand out very elaborate solos and a voice that is enveloping and quite brutal, resisting between so much melody. I highly recommend extreme sound made intelligently.
"As The World Turns Black" is the name of Odium's album. Serious and very direct metal, extreme and technical many times, but perhaps completely unlabeled, with influences from heavy, thrash, crossover and hard rock and a lot of charisma, all this together with a super professional and high-level sound that stands out above all. This album has a professional performance in terms of final sound as a whole. Breaking it down, his voice is very brutal and somewhat incatalogable, I would like to say that it is a serious voice of metal, riff and very clever great melodies, a simple percussion that is coupled to the special extreme to all the music presented here. Seeking to refresh your mind of bands that may be pigeonholed in certain genres because I recommend this band is not more of itself and its sound is quite brutal.
Rodent from the German capital Berlin break into the underground scene with a quite interesting and brutally impressive EP."Anti Human Therapy" contains five incredible songs within the new proposals in metal, a lot of thrash, a lot of hardcore and a lot of crossover, from there all the sound starts so direct and frontal that we can analyze both the strings and their crushing Riffs, apart from a bass that flies and gives it a solid base, a drum with a percussion that is accelerated and super concrete and finished with a legendary vocal register with a lot of brutality and impeccable performance.
Let's remember that this EP was made in September 2019 and it was made at Exx Studios with the Voice of Tom de Exa, Backed by Pedda (Jehackted, Psychaotic) and Matse (King Machine) Mixed and Mastered by Dennis Israel, at Clintwork Studios and Rat-Art Cover by Erik Morawetz and a Layout and design by Exx Tom Bandshots by Jeff Baines. Interesting this EP I highly recommend it.
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