Another Former OBSCURA Member Accuses Band Leader Of ‘Stealing’ Riffs

Obscura 2024
Photo credit: Grzegorz Gołębiowski

The controversy surrounding German progressive death metal band OBSCURA has deepened as yet another former member has come forward with accusations against bandleader Steffen Kummerer.

Following last week’s claims by EXIST’s Alex Weber and Max Phelps that Kummerer allegedly “stole” musical ideas for the band’s recent single, “Evenfall,” ex-OBSCURA guitarist Christian Münzner has now joined in, accusing Kummerer of appropriating riffs he originally composed. Münzner, who was part of OBSCURA from 2008 to 2014 and again from 2020 to 2024, has added fuel to an already heated debate.

Münzner wrote in a social media post: “I just heard more of the new OBSCURA. There are riffs I had written and was guaranteed would not be used, and they are being used 1:1, note for note, stolen, copied, as well as entire song structures. Mr. Tech Death Genius strikes again I would say. If Nuclear Blast releases this they are thiefs as well. I will not let this slide and explore every legal avanue. There are limits to how much s**t we should tolerate. These songs were intended for a solo EP I was planning to do after the OBSCURA split, now I can not do this anymore. This can not go on. Especially if we “agree to disagree” because of creative differences and then you use other peoples work, after you say we are not on the same page what we want musically?

Weber and Phelps alleged that Kummerer appropriated ideas Weber had previously presented to OBSCURA while Weber was a member of the band. Weber claims to have shared these ideas for potential inclusion in OBSCURA‘s upcoming album, A Sonication, but was assured they would not be used after his departure from the band.

Following the January 8th release of “Evenfall,” Weber publicly accused Kummerer of theft, sharing a statement and a video comparison on social media to support his claims. He wrote in a statement: “I was REALLY hoping it wouldn’t come to this… I’m not one to create drama and stir the pot unnecessarily but I’m sad to hear that the new OBSCURA tune contains melodies that I wrote and melodies that I did not give Steffen permission to use. Before we all left the band we got written confirmation that the material we contributed to the record would not be used but this video shows clearly that my melody was used note for note.

“It would have been one thing if I was credited for this or had given him written permission to use it, but that was not the case. It’s not about money or even being that attached to the melody, it’s a matter of principle and intellectual property theft.

“I know because of deadlines, that Steffen was in a tough position when we all left the band but now I’m concerned that more of the music that Chris and I wrote for this album will still be used without our consent.

“I’m always more for going the compassionate route but I don’t appreciate how this situation has been dealt with. It’s NOT ok to use someone else’s music regardless of how much or how little was used, especially without credit.”

As of the time of writing, neither OBSCURA nor Kummerer has publicly addressed the allegations.