Initial Impressions: Obscura: Omnivium

Technical death metal has not historically been a favorite genre of mine, which is a little odd given the shared origins with slam and brutal death metal. Suffocation and Cryptopsy had as much to do with the advent of technical death as slam and brutal death. However, there are definitely groups that I have found extremely impressive. Obscura is one of those.

The technical death metal bands I typically enjoy are those that sound more organic. They are not as machine-like and sterile. Obscura fits that mold quite nicely whereas groups like Braindrill often suffer. Their songs actually sound and are structured like songs instead of overly technical guitar shredding with some vocals thrown in. Obscura is much closer to Decrepit Birth than Braindrill.

This album shows the band maturing their sound, taking leaps and bounds in improving from their last album. And I even enjoyed that one, so it is quite apparent how much I enjoy this one. Obscura uses a surprising amount of cleaner vocal styles on this release. The lack of diversity in the vocals is one thing that always bothered me about the aforementioned Decrepit Birth, so this is definitely a point in Obscura's favor. Beyond that, the guitar leads flow quite nicely with the rest of the music. The whole thing feels natural, which is rare in this style of metal.

This is a surprisingly good release from a still improving band. This band could get even better.