“Silver Linings” opens “A Sonification” the best way ever with a wall of sound created by the guitars, the bass and the drums. Obscura kept Thrash Metal guitars tradition with that simple, but very effective wall of sound they performed here. The impression it gets to the fan is to be overwhelmed by the sonic mass Obscura produced. Soon, the track turns into a violent Melodic Death Metal tune. The band chose very well the song to open the album as it sums up brightly what happens in it musicwise. “A Sonification” is a trip to the musical diversity of Extreme Metal exploring the multiple sonancies it has to offer its dedicated fans.
Interestingly, sic et simpliciter, the bass lines were the thing that attracted me the most in the album. It’s not everyday that we highlight the bass lines in a Metal album, but they are the thing that calls the eye immeadiately in the opening track “Silver Linings,” and, then, in its following “Evenfall.” I don’t know the name of the technique used here, but Prog Rock uses it a lot. It consists in rolling the fingers around the string making a very delicate and flamboyant sound. Just listen to the calm and silent beginning of the instrumental “Beyond the Seventh Sun” to get the effect I’m telling you. It’s not only that, in “In Solitude” the bass gives as many notes as Yngwie Malmsteen in his songs. I’m not overreacting here, but Mr. Jeroen Paul Thesseling plays almost as fast as he does. I’m not kidding.
Another track that tells a lot about the finesse and expertise of Obscura in “A Sonification” is “Beyond the Seventh Sun.” It’s delicate texture proves there is more than meets the eyes about the band. On the other hand, tracks as “Stardust” prove the Extreme Metal trip Obscura do here being Technical Death Metal the forte of the band. While “The Sun Eater” showcases the band’s more obscure and violent facete with striking guitars and a furious vocal. Even in the most furious track of the album, the band proves its prowness teaching a lesson on how to play fast, but, yet, with lots of technique.
“A Sonification” is an album that will please any Extreme Metal fan. The bass lines are undeniably the most interesting of the album, but it’s not only them, there is so much more than meets the eyes.
Obscura “A Sonification” will be released on February 07th via Nuclear Blast Records.
Track Listing:
01. Silver Linings
02. Evenfall
03. In Solitude
04. The Prolonging
05. Beyond the Seventh Sun
06. Stardust
07. The Sun Eater
08. A Sonication
Watch “Silver Linings” official music video here:
I’m just a lucky guy who has chosen metal to live with for a long time. Metal changed my life for good. It made me more confident and stronger. Metalheads are naturally far away from the mass mediocrity and don’t accept impostures from anybody else. Metal is more than music, it’s a life changing oportunity!