Obscura – A Sonication
Release Date: 7th February 2025
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Technical Death Metal, Progressive Death Metal, Melodic Death Metal.
FFO: Necrophagist, At the Gates, Alkaloid, Beyond Creation, Death, Inferi.
Review By: Rick Farley
Founded by (guitarist, vocalist) Steffen Kummerer in 2002, Germany based tech-death heavyweights Obscura return for album number seven A Sonication, on February 7th, 2025, via Nuclear Blast Records. The album marks the second from the label and is also the second offering from their recent trilogy concept that starts with a stunning masterpiece in 2021’s A Valediction.
Known for breathtaking musicianship, a unique sound that is ever evolving, and a songwriting elegance that far exceeds the usual trappings of technical death metal. Masterful musical complexity, engaging melody and progressive edges, Obscura is by far at the very top of their genre mountain. Truth be told, though, tech-death and I have a bit of a love-hate relationship. Don’t get me wrong there are some phenomenal bands, which obviously include legends like Death, Cynic and Necrophagist, but the genre, as I interpret it, is a ratio of one good band to every five bad ones. I suppose the definition of tech-death matters too, but I’m talking full-blown, aimless wankery that will never be something I consider worth listening to. There has to be substance to it, a sincere focus on songwriting and musical integrity.
Which is why it pains me to hear of the recent controversy that surrounds the release of A Sonication. Former band members and two of Obscura’s best musicians (ex-guitarist) Christian Müenzner and (ex-bassist) Alex Weber have accused Steffen of plagiarism. Now not much is known about the extent of it, but the track Evenfall, the second single from the record, is what seemed to spark everything off. Obviously, we can’t know the exact truth behind this and probably will never know, but to think that it could be true is a little disheartening, considering the previous quality of Obscura’s discography. Already known for a revolving door of musicians which sometimes includes the entire band besides Steffen being replaced, this is another reason this potentially becomes a factor in the belief of whether it could be true or not. Just not a good situation all around.
With that said, let’s be real, the idea of this makes an unbiased review difficult, you will see reviews that needlessly bash this album because of it and reviews that will complete ignore it and proclaim this to be the bands magnum opus. The truth of it is, it’s fairly average despite everything. In terms of Obscura’s discography, that is.
Realistically, if you’re just getting into this type of music, this is the record to do so. It’s less progressive, beautifully melodic, more accessible and does have solid songwriting. For fans already of the band, however, this is nowhere near the quality of several previous albums. A Sonication feels rushed, the production, clarity wise, is good, but sounds thin and lifeless. The rhythm guitars have no bite and overall, the music is very safe. There are rumours of the band being rushed to production, I’m not sure how true that is, but even the albums runtime is their shortest, so it does make sense. However, even middle of the road Obscura is at least still worth a listen.
Tracks like opener Silver Linings kicks off with frenzied paced metallic riffs and furious blasting. Thrashy, epic melodicism and a satisfying blend of technical wizardry make this a fierce standout. The brutality of The Prolonging is a short two-minute burst of hyper aggressive guitars with snaky basslines, lower growls, and relentless precision. Instrumental Beyond the Seventh Sun is a fretboard marathon of complex musicianship that benefits from having engaging melodies and feels like a cosmic journey. The Morbid Angel inspired ugliness on The Sun Eater is a stompy mix of unorthodox guitar accents combined with death metal groove that could easily be my favourite track. The minor progressiveness of it augments its nastiness. Obscura plays it by the book on A Sonication, so we’ve heard this all before, but truthfully, it remains enjoyable.
The new musicians (guitarist) Kevin Olasz, (bassist) Robin Zielhorst and (drums) James Stewart are all high quality musicians in their own right, who bring a lot of energy to the table, there’s zero fall off in terms of musicianship. Songwriting wise though, the band as a whole has taken a newer more melodic death metal approach that probably will garner plenty of new fans, while longtime fans will be left wondering what could have been under different circumstances. This will forever be marred by some form of controversy, but there’s plenty to like here. Personally, I will continue to reach for previous albums a little more so.
(3.5 / 5)
