Retro-Review: ‘Transcendence Into the Peripheral’ by diSEMBOWELMENT

Transcendence into the Peripheral by diSEMBOWELMENT is a strange album and kind of a challenge to review.

Seriously, what am I supposed to call their style? It’s not quite death metal. Not quite doom. Not quite grind. They’re closest to the funeral-doom of Skepticism, but that doesn’t feel quite right either. Instead, it sounds like this nebulous entity that exists outside of classification, waiting to reach its aural tentacles in and tingle the unexpecting listener’s spine.

disEMBOWELMENT’s sound is as interesting as the band itself.

Formed in 1989, the Australian band released one EP before Transcendence into the Peripheral in 1993. Shortly after the release of their first album, diSEMBOWELMENT broke up, never even playing live.

That’s the strangest part to me, managing to get a label to pay for and release your album without having to ever prove yourself live. I don’t understand it, but I guess the demos were just really good.

Anyway, despite that weird and short four-year existence, diSEMBOWELMENT are still talked about and for good reason: Transcendence…