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OBLITERATION
Black Death Horizon

Indie Recordings (2013)
Rating: 8/10

I’m surprised there’s another band called Obliteration on the planet, but hey, if it works for these Norwegian metalheads then who am I to argue? Anyway, this Obliteration who rises out of Kolbotn (the home of the mighty Darkthrone) is a bleak quartet who lives up to expectation.

These guys have been on the scene since 2001, and Black Death Horizon is their third full-length release; the music equivalent of waking up in a snow-covered forest only to find your brain has been eaten by wolves! This really is a crashing, bashing and clanking record, and as expected with anyone hailing from Darkthrone’s habitat, it’s quite an abrasive, often wintry affair featuring hoarse vocal sneers, clattering drums, and grey, doom-laden guitars.

Obliteration live up to their moniker in the sense that their rather morbid gurgles have more in common with old Darkthrone and, say, bleak Autopsy than with anything that could be described as classic death metal, although fans of most bands within the genre should find this gritty, cavernous platter to their taste.

The title track, with its sinister echoes and evil influence, is just one of a hatful of miserable noises puked out in this vast forest of misery. ‘The Distant Sun (They Are The Key)’ opts for an even doomier façade with mournful whining guitars and dreary drums, while the snarled lyrics merely act as depressive moans of anguish amidst a backbeat of angst and gathering grey cloud.

There’s no doubt that Obliteration are unhappy guys and are clearly intent on covering your stereo system in a layer of white ash, so in fact there’s no real change from 2009’s Nekropsalms frightmare. But if you often like to find yourself in the bleak midwinter between old Autopsy, early Darkthrone and Winter’s Into Darkness (1990) then why not hibernate throughout those warmer months and spend those snow-covered months worshipping the foetid stench of the pacey ‘Goat Skull Crown’ or simply surrender your soul to the beating that is the eight-minute ‘Transient Passage’.

Black Death Horizon slots nicely alongside Lantern’s recent chilly effort (Below) and it’s unlikely that hot water bottle is going to save you from this rather remote cabin in the woods, because throughout this 42-minute affair there’s always a sense of unease, like the onset of a coming blizzard, and while listening to this record is akin to severe frost-bite, you’ll keep coming back for more if only to appreciate the hidden terrors of the instrumental ‘Churning Magma’.

Neil Arnold

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