Some so-called `old school death metal’ is very self consciously archaic and primitive, desperately trying to achieve that retrogressive sound. Not so Obscure Infinity, who with their third album, have crafted a raging, crushing opus which absolutely screams `death metal’, but is `old-school’ in the sense that it is dark. heavy, dramatic, atmospheric, with well-written songs. There is no obsession here with playing at a zillion miles an hour, nor making the songs as physically complicated as possible.
For a start, Obscure Infinity know how to write a great, dark and heavy riff. The album is peppered liberally with them, they are everywhere. To my ears, there is quite a blend of influences all coming together on these 9 tracks; there are a lot of old Swedish influences, with some great fast-picked, eerie single note riffs in vein of Dismember or early Entombed, as well as some barbaric, rough and ready Discharge-style chords (which also reminds me a lot of the early Swedish death metal scene). What they also have in spades though, something that many other bands lack, is a real melodramatic, dark atmosphere. This achieved partly through an excellent, occasional use of fantastic melody, which really adds an extra dimension to the grim and crushing drama already present. There are some surprising acoustic passages and even the odd bout of harmonious singing, which not only shows the band’s creativity, but also really adds something to the band’s overall sound.
The vocals are also old-fashioned, in that you can actually hear that words are being pronounced, rather than merely guttural grunts and squeals. Vocalist Jules puts in a convincing and malevolent performance with an echo-enhanced low growl. At times he varies it with a more emphatic yell, or a higher pitched and more expressive roar. Often the vocals in death metal can be incredibly one-dimensional, not so here. Another thing that must be mention; the guitar solos. They really are out-of-this-world! It is clear that there are some very talented musicians in Obscure Infinity, who certainly aren’t afraid to throw in some traditional heavy metal melody when it suits them, and this is to their credit.
In general, this is a good death metal album which ticks all the right boxes; it’s dark, heavy and powerful. There is a great sense of drama, a sinister atmosphere and a larger than life feel about the music. There is great use of chilling melody when required, and as I mentioned before, the song writing is of high quality, and all the songs have great dynamics. The lyrics are rather impenetrable, yet grimly poetic. Obscure Infinity definitely show themselves as a force to be reckoned with on this album, and they certainly have the potential and talent to step out of the shadows and become much more well known. Who knows, 2015 could be their year.
(7.5/10 Jon Butlin)
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