death metal
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It is quite a nice, sunny day today but now it looks like the clouds are forming a tremendous wall-of-death in the sky. I wonder if this album I'm listening to has anything to do with it. After all, judging from what I hear, this really is the stuff that induces moshpits and other activies non-metalheads just don't understand. I can see their faces now, asking that ridiculous question: "why are those people running into one another"?
"Because it's metal, stupid"!
Yes, my friends, it's time to bang those heads and raise those devil horns. Allow me to introduce you to Obsidian, a quartet from Vancouver, Canada. Well, members hail from France, Germany and Canada but Vancouver is their home base. It looks like they found each other after years of touring and recording in other bands so we are indeed dealing with some experienced musicians with a clear image of what their music should sound like.
And what does it sound like? Well, let's try a mix of Fear Factory and Gorefest with some Meshuggah and Gojira thrown into it. The result is a blast: brutal death metal with some progressive and a lot of technical/industrial influences. The latter are mainly present in the repetitive, machine-like nature of the drums. Upon these a number of equally precisely structured riffs and fierce growls are placed while the bass guitar enhances the underlying groove effect.
Well, that sounds like a pretty cold and objective way to describe the music but somehow it fits perfectly with the music. Title track 'Time Erode' or, one of my favorites, 'Useful Idiot' have an intense mechanical sound. There doesn't seem to be a lot of humanity left in this band, or at least in their music. I don't know the guys personally so I have no idea if they are humans of real life terminators.
Yet, what I can say is that this album is stunning and highly recommended to everyone who's into death metal. If you want a little variation between brutality, mechanical sound and melody, Obsidian provides. 'Downfall' for instance has a nice groove and a touch of melody while still staying loyal to the basic ingredients for great death metal. So does 'YVR (Rain City)' a song that proves that these are not only extremely disciplined musicians but also have a nose for decent instrumentals.
On 'Broken And Defeated' I suddenly start noticing the hardcore and modern day alternative metal influences. It's these which give Obsidian their neoteric sound. Without them I could have mistaken this band for a death metal band from the nineties but with them they transcend that era and place themselves into the spotlights of today's scene...
...which they obviously should. They should indeed be able to prove themselves on stage, being experience musicians and bringing a number of very strong metal songs to a phrenetic audience. I surely hope they come over to Europe soon to promote this brutal piece of extreme metal. While the other people indulge themselves into a malapert frenzy, I'll be in the back, yelling 'told you so'...
Serge
"Because it's metal, stupid"!
Yes, my friends, it's time to bang those heads and raise those devil horns. Allow me to introduce you to Obsidian, a quartet from Vancouver, Canada. Well, members hail from France, Germany and Canada but Vancouver is their home base. It looks like they found each other after years of touring and recording in other bands so we are indeed dealing with some experienced musicians with a clear image of what their music should sound like.
And what does it sound like? Well, let's try a mix of Fear Factory and Gorefest with some Meshuggah and Gojira thrown into it. The result is a blast: brutal death metal with some progressive and a lot of technical/industrial influences. The latter are mainly present in the repetitive, machine-like nature of the drums. Upon these a number of equally precisely structured riffs and fierce growls are placed while the bass guitar enhances the underlying groove effect.
Well, that sounds like a pretty cold and objective way to describe the music but somehow it fits perfectly with the music. Title track 'Time Erode' or, one of my favorites, 'Useful Idiot' have an intense mechanical sound. There doesn't seem to be a lot of humanity left in this band, or at least in their music. I don't know the guys personally so I have no idea if they are humans of real life terminators.
Yet, what I can say is that this album is stunning and highly recommended to everyone who's into death metal. If you want a little variation between brutality, mechanical sound and melody, Obsidian provides. 'Downfall' for instance has a nice groove and a touch of melody while still staying loyal to the basic ingredients for great death metal. So does 'YVR (Rain City)' a song that proves that these are not only extremely disciplined musicians but also have a nose for decent instrumentals.
On 'Broken And Defeated' I suddenly start noticing the hardcore and modern day alternative metal influences. It's these which give Obsidian their neoteric sound. Without them I could have mistaken this band for a death metal band from the nineties but with them they transcend that era and place themselves into the spotlights of today's scene...
...which they obviously should. They should indeed be able to prove themselves on stage, being experience musicians and bringing a number of very strong metal songs to a phrenetic audience. I surely hope they come over to Europe soon to promote this brutal piece of extreme metal. While the other people indulge themselves into a malapert frenzy, I'll be in the back, yelling 'told you so'...
Serge