REVIEW: OBSCURA – Omnivium

 

OBSCURA – Omnivium (2011)

Relapse Records

OBSCURA from Germany had already established themselves as one of the most technically accomplished names in extreme metal by the time Omnivium arrived in March 2011. Formed in 2002 by Steffen Kummerer, the band had built much of its reputation around a combination of technical and progressive death metal, and the connection with names such as NECROPHAGIST and PESTILENCE made their musical direction fairly easy to anticipate. The lineup featured guitarist Christian Münzner and drummer Hannes Grossmann, both formerly of NECROPHAGIST, alongside PESTILENCE-associated fretless bassist Jeroen Paul Thesseling and Kummerer himself on guitars and vocals. In other words, the personnel alone represented a formidable concentration of experience in technically demanding extreme metal.

Omnivium was recorded at Woodshed Studio in Germany with V. Santura handling engineering, production, mixing and mastering duties, while the album's artwork was created by Orion Landau. The record contains nine compositions and runs for roughly 54 minutes, giving the band considerable room to develop its elaborate arrangements. Its conceptual side is also worth mentioning: the lyrical framework draws inspiration from Friedrich Schelling's philosophical work On Nature's Connection to the Spirit World, which fits the album's interest in abstract, cosmic and metaphysical themes.

Musically, there is very little that can be questioned when it comes to the musicians' ability. The technique is flawless, the rhythm and tempo changes are often stunning, the dark atmosphere is consistently maintained, and the melodic passages, whenever they emerge from the dense arrangements, can be genuinely breathtaking. The particularly prominent fretless bass of Thesseling adds another dimension to the material, while Grossmann's drumming provides an extraordinarily precise rhythmic foundation for the constantly shifting guitar work. Tracks such as “Ocean Gateways”, “Prismal Dawn” and “Celestial Spheres” demonstrate how OBSCURA could move between brutality, melody and progressive experimentation without abandoning their extreme-metal identity.

However, and this is where my personal reservations begin, Omnivium is good without being an album that makes me want to jump from joy. Let me explain myself...

The problem is not the technique; that aspect is beyond dispute. Nor is it the ambition of the compositions. Rather, there are moments when the structures and themes become so chaotic, intermingled and complex that the final result becomes difficult to follow. At times I get the impression that the band is making a conscious effort to demonstrate just how much they are capable of playing. It is impressive, without question, but the sheer quantity of sounds, scale changes, technical passages and tempo alterations can eventually become tiring.

This is particularly noticeable because the changes come so frequently that the listener is rarely given enough time to become familiar with, digest or simply enjoy a particular musical idea before it is replaced by another. A riff appears, develops and suddenly gives way to another rhythmic or melodic construction; a melodic passage emerges only to be swallowed by another technical transition. For listeners who enjoy examining every detail of an album, this abundance will undoubtedly provide plenty to discover, while for others it may have the opposite effect and create a certain distance from the songs themselves.

That tendency is perhaps one of the defining characteristics of Omnivium. Compared with straightforward technical death metal, OBSCURA are clearly interested in creating something more progressive, layered and structurally ambitious. The result is a record in which virtuosity is not merely an ingredient but one of the principal means of expression. The downside, at least for my ears, is that the musicianship occasionally becomes so prominent that the individual compositions struggle to establish the kind of memorable identity that would make me return to them simply for the pleasure of listening.

Omnivium therefore remains a very strong example of technical progressive death metal and an impressive showcase for four exceptionally capable musicians. There is no shortage of ideas, skill or ambition here, and the album's combination of brutality, melody and elaborate musicianship explains why it attracted considerable attention within the technical death metal scene.

For my personal taste, however, it would have been considerably more effective with a little more restraint. The musicians clearly had the ability to play all these notes; what I sometimes wanted was simply more space between them. Sometimes less is more.

Christine  Parastatidou