Black Wizard: Livin’ Oblivion

If you’re a fan of Eliran Kantor, check out the cover art for this album. Kantor has done several covers over the years so if you aren’t familiar with him by name, you’ve probably seen some of his stuff anyway. I really liked his work for Testament and Fleshgod Apocalypse, but I also recommend looking at the cover of Sigh’s last album. It’s a pretty stunning image.

Kantor has a particular knack for capturing an album’s overall theme through his art. At first glance, this cover looks pretty tame, but that’s actually the point. The theme for this album has to do with the various ways people fall slowly into a state of lowered awareness and passivity. The song that captures this theme most explicitly is probably “Feast or Famine,� a hard rocking piece that draws on early Metallica and Slayer in some really exciting ways. I was a little skeptical of the thrash elements at first, but I came away convinced. These guys definitely have the chops to stir them into their generally heavy rock sound. Even though the band is more like Thin Lizzy and Electric Wizard than Anthrax or Metalla, there are part of this album that turn back to the rawness and power of 80s thrash quite convincingly. Black Wizard has always been good, but these extra elements really stand out.

The best thing about this album is the band’s overall sound and energy. They’ve been making music for a while, but they sound refreshed and energized in ways that give this album an edge over the others. I was especially captivated with the guitar playing on this album. Some of the lead parts are really clear and soulful while others are flashy and exciting. All together, they are impressive and cool. I recommend checking out “Cascadia,� “Poisoned Again,� “Feast or Famine,� and “Portraits.�

Track Listing:
1. Two of These Nights
2. Feast or Famine
3. James Wolfe
4. Livin’ Oblivion
5. Cascadia
6. Portraits
7. Poisoned Again
8. Heavy Love
9. Eternal Illusion

Added: May 7th 2018
Reviewer: Carl Sederholm
Score:
Related Link: Band Facebook Page
Hits: 919
Language: english

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