San Franscisco's Obolus depressive black metal envelopes the listener in waves of bleak atmospheres, dissonant and tormented vocals, melancholically grand and vast vacant soft passages, and wall-of-fire riffs. The howling vocals are strong and convey the emptiness and despair felt only by those that dare to wake from their slumber and realise that existence is no more than inhabiting the void, futility raining down on every act and barrenness permeating every breath. The tracks bear an unearthly heavy sound, compounded by the simple yet forceful drumming and the clean and soft and the raw, primitive guitar lines. Bleak, harsh, and harrowing, the addition of keys augments the solitude and exquisite misery, the sombre, unhallowed, almost ceremonial feel to the album becoming increasingly unsettling and, paradoxically, comforting. Whether depressive black metal is to your liking or not, the overwhelming sadness of Lament is worth your indulgence. Recommended.
Track Listing:
- Desolation
- Reflection
- Hatred
- Grievance
- Lament
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