OBSCURE : ON FORMALDEHYDE
Dark Essence Records
Hellllll, yeah! Obscure hail from Bergen, Norway, but they have the soul and sound of a British band from the 70s, melding doomy heavy metal with progressive inclinations and a psychedelic edge to sound like nothing short of a crazy concoction of Black Sabbath, St. Vitus, Trouble, Deep Purple and Thin Lizzy, with a little bit of Maiden on the side. The authentic aura of “On Formaldehyde” is stunning, with the four musicians, headed up by former Enslaved guitarist Roy Kronheim, recreating the catchy, grooving spirit of the age perfectly, yet not neglecting their modern progression and inventiveness at the same time.
Proceedings kick off with “Conversensation”, which has an immediate warm groove which is classic but doesn’t play it too safe, maintaining a dark edge and a genuine catchiness. The vocal approach is very ‘natural’; no major histrionics or effects, just a solid, hard rock manliness that works well in keeping the music intimate and direct. “Methamorphosis” is slow and very doom-inspired, adorned with cascading, heroic solos which overlay each other to dizzying effect. “Veins of Steel” ups the pace, with fast, tricksy dual guitars evoking the spirit of Phil Lynott.
So far, so good, but it’s with the title track that Obscure develop into something really special. A proggy, sparse and gentle introduction opens into a big, mired-down chorus, before a much speeded up section incorporating the kind of wide-eyed, dramatic vocal performance one expected from Ozzy when he was at the top of his game. “Giants” keeps the quality high with an insistently groovy, brilliant main riff and some interesting timings, whilst “Fragments” and “Subserialist” are the contenders for stand-out track, the former having a beautiful vocal melody which is later picked up in a guitar solo for an epic finish, and the latter being mad, warm, proggy, driving, dramatic and simply huge.
The nostalgia which Obscure peddle is powerful and undeniable, but it is also respectful and very creative in its own right, witnessing the band come up with original riffs that are even more infectious than their forebears’. A warm and unobtrusive production and excellent artwork all combine to make this my favourite backward-looking doom-metal-prog-rock album since Spiritual Beggars’ “Ad Astra”. Definitely one that inspires many repeated listens, and much embarrassing air-guitaring!
88/100
