Label: Relapse Records
Release date: July 13, 2018
Production: V. Santura
Album length: 53:58 min
Genre: progressive/technical death metal
For German progressive death metal outfit Obscura, it’s pretty incredible that they’ve stayed afloat after all the ups and downs. Lineup changes in bands that demand truly great musicians can quickly prove fatal. Luckily, thanks to the trend in extreme metal, where capable players are everywhere you look, Obscura also found a capable guitarist and drummer, who recorded Akróasis, released in 2016.
The lineup held and stabilized. In fact, the new members slotted even deeper into the creative process, and after a good two years the follow-up, titled Diluvium, was born. The album came together incredibly fast for a band that plays such complex music.
Diluvium kicks off with Clandestine Stars, which has no pompous intro, just speed and technicality front and center. The uncompromising track is more of a warm-up. The band’s strengths are already on display, but there are no real progressive moments yet. For some vocal dynamics, the chorus features a synthesized vocal, which shows the influence of the legendary Cynic. But with the next tracks the band opens up and shows its true face. On the title track, the batch of varied riffs is seriously colorful. There’s no shortage of virtuoso soloing either. The rhythm section is, of course, just as dynamic.
The track Mortification of the Vulgar Sun lets you know the band can slow down a little, can get atmospheric, and knows how to bring in an undistorted section to calm things down. It can come across as chaotic, yet you can feel the pull toward unconventional structuring. With every following track it’s clear that this band is progressive through and through.
So the Obscura style is there, there’s a bit of experimenting too, but no heavy digressions that could spoil the overall impression. On Ethereal Skies the sound gets beefed up even more with orchestrations and keyboards, which have been around from earlier on already. What grates at times is the overuse of synthesized vocals in places. That shows on Convergence. The atmosphere is definitely there, but the track as a whole doesn’t grab you like the others. It bounces back quickly with Ekpyrosis, though, where the band sticks to its style, and in the calmer section the band’s virtuosity shines again.
Another shade of the album shows up with the heavily distorted The Conjuration, where the low-tuned guitar comes to the front. Toward the end another element the band loves to use steps up. I’m talking about melody. Obscura use melody to break up the monotony, and it makes the whole thing easier to listen to, too.
Obscura close the album with An Epilogue to Infinity. Once again an exceptionally polished track, with some slow and morbid stretches too. It all culminates in chaos and aggression. It’s a great twist, the result of thoughtful songwriting. At this point you can say for sure that the album lived up to all expectations.
The band’s tightness remains at peak power. Despite the lineup changes a few years back, it’s clear this is still the same band. The quality hasn’t dropped. It’s played precisely, the guitars are a powerful force, and the solos just keep coming. Bassist Linus Klausenitzer is also clearly audible and inventive with his lines, just as is fitting for this style of music. Drummer Sebastian Lanser proves for the second time that he’s the right replacement for Hannes Grossmann. His playing is fast, precise and polished. He nails every part. It may sound over the top, but Obscura wouldn’t have reached their current recognition without a capable drummer.
With their fifth studio album, Obscura show no signs of letting up. You can feel the consistency, the thoughtfulness and the progressiveness. If the band keeps going like this, it will remain one of the most recognizable names among progressive death metal bands for a long time.
Rating: 9/10
Tracklist:
- Clandestine Stars
- Emergent Evolution
- Diluvium
- Mortification of the Vulgar Sun
- Ethereal Skies
- Convergence
- Ekpyrosis
- The Seventh Aeon
- The Conjuration
- An Epilogue to Infinity
- A Last Farewell (Bonus)
Lineup:
Steffen Kummerer – vocals & guitar
Rafael Trujillo – guitar
Linus Klausenitzer – bass
Sebastian Lanser – drums
