Lord Dying have been quiet since 2019’s Mysterium Tremendum. With nearly five years of growth, there was a lot that went into making their latest LP, Clandestine Transcendence.
Right off the bat there are a ton of sounds that come together from Lamb of God’s general approach to a post-Crack The Skye Mastodon and everything else in between. “The Universe Is Weeping” and “Unto Becoming” feel like the start of what might just be the big breakthrough record for Lord Dying into the broader metal populous, as there is a lot to like here.
“Dancing on Emptiness” allows the band to slow down and offers a song that might feel pretty at home on a Queens of The Stone Age record: vocals, guitar licks and general feelings. Tracks like those already mentioned bely the album’s artwork; this is not the evil entry that is being portrayed.
Clocking in at just over eight minutes, this is by far the longest track on the record and one that lets it all hang loose with each section resolving itself and not overstaying its welcome, showing that not only can Lord Dying vary their sound, but they can do so within the framework of one long sonic sample.
The back half of the album has the band covering even more musical bases as they won’t be constrained to a single identifier. “A Bond Broken By Death” begins with pounding drums and the continued vocal attack by front man Erik Olson and shredding guitars also provided by Chris Evans all against a beautiful façade that ebbs and flows. A section of acoustic guitar acts like a transition to more heavy emotionality, accomplishing an epic of sorts in just over 5 and a half minutes.
So much has been put into their fourth album, one that is just short of an hour, that it needs to be experienced as there is something for all types of metalheads and even folks that just dabble in the genre.
Lord Dying are going to have a monster year and Clandestine Transcendence will undoubtably have plenty of staying power. This is the first truly great album of 2024, one that will be talked about ad nauseum over the next 12 months.
(released January 19, 2024 on MNRK Heavy)
Heavy Music HQ Rating:
Watch Lord Dying – “The Universe Is Weeping” Video
