Along with Fallujah, Australia's Ne Obliviscaris are currently one of the best progressive death metal acts going today. Their brand new album for Season of Mist, simply titled Urn, is another fantastic display of high art, blending the ferocity of death metal with prog, classical, jazz, thrash, and anything else they can get their hands on and incorporate. The band are comprised of:
Xenoyr - Lead Vocals
Tim Charles - Violin & Vocals
Matt Klavins - Guitar
Benjamin Baret- Lead guitar
Dan Presland - Drums
Of course, having a full time violinist in the band only adds to Ne Obliviscaris' unique quality, and when combined with the dueling guitars, acrobatic drumming, and the clean & extreme vocal styles, it all makes for an intriguing style of music that is hard to ignore. The two part "Libera" kicks things off, nearly 13-minutes of atmospheric, progressive death metal with some lovely classical leanings thanks to Tim Charles' gorgeous violin passages. It's beautiful and savage, all at the same time. Stunning acoustic guitars, nimble bass, and thunderous riffs permeate the proggy "Intra Venus", a highly textured piece that reminds of some of Opeth's classic early material, the growls face melting and the clean vocals simply soaring to the heavens. Toss in some wild lead guitar, violin, and energetic drumming, and you have an instant classic in the making. Folk, classical, and pop combine on the lush "Eyrie", a highly engaging piece that eventually morphs into a technical metal juggernaut, and the album closes out with the ominous, two-part title track, 14-minutes of jaw dropping musicality and ferocious arrangements. These guys deliver some of the best growls/screams in extreme metal today, and paired up with the incredible clean vocals, it's a winning formula.
Unfortunately, I didn't get to Urn until really late in the year, so it won't make my Best of 2017 list as that's already been put together and finalized, but it will be there in spirit. This is one of the best progressive extreme metal albums of 2017 folks, so do not miss it!
See more about this release on our recent YouTube show!
Track Listing
1. Libera (Part I) – Saturnine Spheres
2. Libera (Part II) – Ascent of Burning Moths
3. Intra Venus
4. Eyrie
5. Urn (Part I) – And Within The Void We Are Breathless
6. Urn (Part II) – As Embers Dance In Our Eyes
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