Obscurant - Lifeform: Dead
2003 - Woodcut Records
By Philip Whitehouse
Go to the Woodcut Records website.
Born out of vocalist/guitarist Luukkainen's solo project while he was doing military service in 2000, Finnish newcomers Obscurant soon expanded to a full band, creating mid-tempo, somewhat melodic death metal with a melancholic atmosphere. Comparable vaguely in style to recent Hypocrisy releases, Obscurant deal in straightforward song structures, thick and heavy riffage with doom-like lead guitars, a mixture of harsh, growled death metal vocals and plaintive clean vox and choral synths that fill out the sound and create a bleak, oppressive atmosphere. In fact, the overall sound of this album puts me in mind of what My Dying Bride's 'The Angel And The Dark River' might have sounded like as a mid-tempo death metal release.
'Lifeform: Dead' is something of a sleeper album - when I first listened to it I was distinctly unimpressed, but over a lengthier period of time it continued to make more and more sense - initially rather non-plussed by the relative simplicity of the songs and the riffs, I was eventually won over by the atmosphere created by the interplay of the instruments. The drumming is restrained and complementary, the riffs almost subliminally pleasing to the ear, and the keyboards are unobtrusively and skillfully employed to create a symphonic effect, minimalistic but effective.
Something out of the ordinary then, but a promising release. In future, perhaps the band could benefit from a more varied approach (as every song essentially follows the same plodding, downbeat formula), but as a first effort, this is pretty good.
6/10
2003 - Woodcut Records
By Philip Whitehouse
Go to the Woodcut Records website.
Born out of vocalist/guitarist Luukkainen's solo project while he was doing military service in 2000, Finnish newcomers Obscurant soon expanded to a full band, creating mid-tempo, somewhat melodic death metal with a melancholic atmosphere. Comparable vaguely in style to recent Hypocrisy releases, Obscurant deal in straightforward song structures, thick and heavy riffage with doom-like lead guitars, a mixture of harsh, growled death metal vocals and plaintive clean vox and choral synths that fill out the sound and create a bleak, oppressive atmosphere. In fact, the overall sound of this album puts me in mind of what My Dying Bride's 'The Angel And The Dark River' might have sounded like as a mid-tempo death metal release.
'Lifeform: Dead' is something of a sleeper album - when I first listened to it I was distinctly unimpressed, but over a lengthier period of time it continued to make more and more sense - initially rather non-plussed by the relative simplicity of the songs and the riffs, I was eventually won over by the atmosphere created by the interplay of the instruments. The drumming is restrained and complementary, the riffs almost subliminally pleasing to the ear, and the keyboards are unobtrusively and skillfully employed to create a symphonic effect, minimalistic but effective.
Something out of the ordinary then, but a promising release. In future, perhaps the band could benefit from a more varied approach (as every song essentially follows the same plodding, downbeat formula), but as a first effort, this is pretty good.
6/10
