Lord Dying – Clandestine Transcendence (Review)

This is the fourth album from Lord Dying, a sludge metal band from the US.

I absolutely loved 2019’s Mysterium Tremendum, (it ended up in fourth position in that year’s best of list), so I was thrilled when the 59-minute Clandestine Transcendence appeared. Well, it’s five years later and the band have a new lineup, (current/ex-Eight Bells/Tithe), so what does Clandestine Transcendence have to offer discerning metal fans in 2024?

As expected/hoped for, this is an impressively enjoyable album. It’s ambitious in scope, yet intimate in feel. Packed with emotional content, it nonetheless knows how to rage and bite when it needs to.

Lord Dying’s progressive sludge metal is powered by first-rate riffs, cosmic atmosphere, spectral melodies, emotive singing, and well-crafted song structure. An album of both immediate hooks and compelling depths, Clandestine Transcendence is a record to keenly explore over time.

Clandestine Tremendum is a layered, multifaceted album that expands the scope of Lord Dying’s sound a little bit wider, while still retaining the winning elements that made Mysterium Tremendum so captivating. Thematically continuing where that last record left off, Clandestine Transcendence further develops Lord Dying’s songwriting. At one end of the scale the music is heavier and more aggressive when it needs to be, whereas at the other it’s lighter and more contemplative. This is a real journey into brutality and beauty; combining massive catchiness with scathing aggression and affecting emotion isn’t easy, but Lord Dying make it seem so.

Well, I haven’t been disappointed by Lord Dying’s latest. Clandestine Transcendence is quite the engaging work. If you’ve liked Lord Dying in the past, (and even if you haven’t), then this is one you won’t want to miss.

Essential listening.