Transmutation of Fate takes Scarab back through their own catalogue and comes out sounding current. The Egyptian band use four tracks to rework ideas from the Blinding the Masses years to Martyrs of the Storm, tying them to the Magnum Opus concept: base matter, dark passage, refinement, return.
The EP is technical death metal with orchestral programming, layered harmonics and a ritual frame. “Vow of the Sphinx (Abou El-Houl)” gives the record its centre of gravity, while “Hands from the Sun (Amon)” and “Epistle of Secrets (Creators of III)” push the arrangements into denser ground. The Egyptian references affect rhythm and atmosphere, especially in the phonetic incantations. Scarab are brutal when the songs ask for it, but the EP works because they do not rush every moment into impact.
They know when to let blast beats and gutturals lead, and when to leave silence, keys or tension in the foreground. The density asks for a second listen, but that suits a record built around excavation and transformation.
Transmutation of Fate sounds like a band clearing old material from its system and turning it into one of its strongest statements.
