Obtest - Is Kartos I Karta
Ledo Takas - LETA 018 CD - 2005
By Philip Whitehouse
I feel fairly certain, that when the time comes for me and UltimateMetal to part ways, as a result of reviewing for this site I will have amassed a collection including at least one album from pretty much every country on Earth. I've got Czechoslovakian grindcore, Italian power metal, and now, Lithuanian 'pagan heathen war metal'. Obtest's third effort Is Kartos I Karta ('From Generation To Generation' for the linguistically challenged) marks a further step away from their heathen black metal past, towards a kind of meld of melodically-inclined, Viking-indebted, blackened thrash with traditional leanings. Okay, so that's probably the most convoluted description I've ever placed on this site (with perhaps the exception of my review of melodic hardcore band Taken's last release), but that's the only fair way to sum up Obtest's speedy assault.
The double-kick rhythms rarely let up for a second, while the vocalist's shouty/raspy approach (all in Lithuanian, natch) doesn't vary for a moment for the album's entire duration. In fact, pretty much all that seperates most of the tracks is the impressive, almost Paradise Lost-esque melodic lead guitar work, which counterpoints the tight thrashy rhythm riffage very nicely and occasionally lends the songwriting an uplifting, epic quality.
Sadly, the lack of variety both in the vocalist's performance and in the pace of the tracks undoes a fair amount of the lead guitarist's hard work, making this a pretty cool album to listen to in short bursts, but something of an endurance test for its full length.
6.5/10
Official Obtest Website
Official Ledo Takas Records Website
Ledo Takas - LETA 018 CD - 2005
By Philip Whitehouse
I feel fairly certain, that when the time comes for me and UltimateMetal to part ways, as a result of reviewing for this site I will have amassed a collection including at least one album from pretty much every country on Earth. I've got Czechoslovakian grindcore, Italian power metal, and now, Lithuanian 'pagan heathen war metal'. Obtest's third effort Is Kartos I Karta ('From Generation To Generation' for the linguistically challenged) marks a further step away from their heathen black metal past, towards a kind of meld of melodically-inclined, Viking-indebted, blackened thrash with traditional leanings. Okay, so that's probably the most convoluted description I've ever placed on this site (with perhaps the exception of my review of melodic hardcore band Taken's last release), but that's the only fair way to sum up Obtest's speedy assault.
The double-kick rhythms rarely let up for a second, while the vocalist's shouty/raspy approach (all in Lithuanian, natch) doesn't vary for a moment for the album's entire duration. In fact, pretty much all that seperates most of the tracks is the impressive, almost Paradise Lost-esque melodic lead guitar work, which counterpoints the tight thrashy rhythm riffage very nicely and occasionally lends the songwriting an uplifting, epic quality.
Sadly, the lack of variety both in the vocalist's performance and in the pace of the tracks undoes a fair amount of the lead guitarist's hard work, making this a pretty cool album to listen to in short bursts, but something of an endurance test for its full length.
6.5/10
Official Obtest Website
Official Ledo Takas Records Website
