A Sonication

01. Silver Linings02. Evenfall03. In Solitude04. The Prolonging05. Beyond The Seventh Sun06. Stardust07. The Sun Eater08. A SonicationVirtuoso death metal comes in numerous forms, but few are as definitive or undeniable as the shiny, immaculate strain of cerebral tech-death that OBSCURA have been propagating for the last 23 years. In fact, since 2009’s breakthrough release “Cosmogenesis”, the Germans have been a rarely disputed benchmark for the entire genre. Over subsequent years, founder and chief composer Steffen Kummerer (also frontman with black metal bombers THULCANDRA) has certainly refined and expanded OBSCURA’s remit, but the essence of what the band does has remained constant: absurdly technical and intricate extreme metal with strong progressive tendencies, lyrics that plunder the realms of philosophy and existential query, and an overriding sense of gleaming perfection. Despite numerous lineup changes over the years, Kummerer’s crew have been a model of consistency, and while their music has become slightly more accessible over the years, the standard reaction to hearing a new OBSCURA album is to willingly let your jaw hit the floor.No one should expect anything different from “A Sonication”. In keeping with the noticeably more melodic approach that informed 2021’s “A Valediction”, “A Sonication” strives to satisfy demands for dazzling technical wizardry, but also for levels of accessibility that music from this corner of the metal scene rarely achieves. Not for the first time, the Germans are making music that will rip your face off, but with rare sophistication and attention to detail.Admittedly, observant fans will know that there is currently some dispute about “A Sonication”. Former members of OBSCURA, who departed the lineup in 2024, have levelled accusations that Kummerer has purloined music that they wrote, despite his reported promise that none of their material would be used on the band’s next album. Kummerer, of course, disputes those allegations and is expected to make a definitive response in the near future. Either way, “A Sonication” is here and, last minute lawsuits notwithstanding, will be released as planned. The truth behind the situation is difficult to decipher at this point, but the quality of the music on OBSCURA’s seventh studio album is sufficiently (and predictably) high that, with all due respect to disgruntled former members, it is hard to imagine that anyone will care enough to withhold their interest.It all begins with what must surely be the most catchy and succinct song that OBSCURA have ever released. “Silver Linings” is still full of blurred-finger frenetics and implausible percussive feats, but its powerful core of ornate melo-death elevates everything to a higher plane. Propelled along at a hair-raising pace by recently recruited drummer James Stewart (DECAPITATED / SERMON / ex-VADER),it is a simply sublime piece of heavy metal songwriting, and a thrilling way to introduce OBSCURA’s refreshed lineup. From there, Kummerer digs deeper into the complexities that informed previous albums, but always with that new enthusiasm for penning real, red-blooded tunes. “Evenfall” comes next, with a syrupy fretless bass intro, leading into an an epic and imperious mid-paced attack that, again, may be more aggressively immediate and memorable than fans are expecting. There are shades of HYPOCRISY and “Symbolic”-era DEATH lurking in the shadows, but OBSCURA twist the formula, conjuring something with real emotional potency (and loads of mind-bending guitar solos). “In Solitude” follows a comparably melodic and succinct path, but with more blastbeats and a knotty, fusion-infused structure that benefits hugely from Fredrik Nordstrom’s grand and finessed production. Everything about “A Sonication” is immense.Anyone panicking about OBSCURA slipping into more commercial territory will be swiftly appeased by “The Prolonging”: a two-minute death metal face-melter that puts progressive ideals aside for its duration, opting for all-out battery and flagrant nastiness instead. Thereafter, Kummerer’s vision continues to expand. “Beyond The Seventh Sun” and “The Sun Eater” are both highly evolved, tech-death gems, while the fervently melancholy “Stardust” takes the melodic approach one step further, wringing languid charm from a tight mesh of riffs and lethal hooks. Best of all, the title track offers seven minutes of feral, death metal futurism, with a glorious solo from KREATOR’s Sami Yli-Sirniö, and a superb blaze of instrumental prowess that fades to an elegant black.Pure class, as always, then. OBSCURA continue to set standards and blow minds.[embedded content]