Band:	Brown Jenkins
Album:	Death Obsession
Style:	Black metal, Doom metal
Release date:	November 2009

01. Breathless
02. Ashes In Her Mouth
03. Lifetaker
04. Lords Of Suicide
05. Hopeless, Godlike
06. Bluebird
07. We Disappear

A band that recently popped out of nowhere, got raving reviews, then disappeared again is Brown Jenkins. Dagonite and Angel Eyes really impressed me and the majority of the Doom/Black & Depressive Black metal scene, then Brown Jenkins decided to call it quits in November '08. A final swansong in the form of the aptly titled Death Obsession has to lessen our grief now. So, does it?

<<< We interrupt this review with a sound description in order to achieve a cliffhanger-effect. >>>

Death Obsession opens in the best tradition of Brown Jenkins. Droning, sharp and ice-cold distortion fills the space that surrounds you. They're not really the center of this recording though, the bass is. While the guitars strike down with hail and haze, the bass provides solid ground and from a certain perspective, the riffs. With their strong position in the mix and their booming sound, they provide rhythm, riffs and melody all at the same time. Quite unusual. UA's drumwork has been mixed to the back of the recording but from the looks of it, we're not missing out. Simple pacekeeping is what they are supposed to do and that's exactly what they do. Leaves us the vocals to discuss, which are sparse low death-growls this time. They're not as obscure as they once were. In fact, the entire album -although still a mix of (Funeral) Doom and Black metal- is not as obscure as this band once was.

I told you cliffhangers are annoying.

<<< Apologies. You may proceed reading this review. >>>

Well, not really. Or perhaps it does. It is not as good as Angel Eyes, and definitely not as good as Dagonite. No final masterpiece, no ultimate swansong, but no everlasting decline in quality either. 'Cause let's face it: Brown Jenkins peaked with Dagonite (earliest I've heard) and went downhill after that. Not rapidly, not much, but downhill after all. Good bye!