Written by Troy Killjoy on 23.04.2011 at 15:17

Written by Deadmeat on 23.04.2011 at 10:38

Written by Troy Killjoy on 23.04.2011 at 07:25

I think it's safe to say the only reason I like this album as much as I do is because of the vocals. They have a perfect amount of brutality and comprehensibility. The musicianship is stellar, which is to be expected, but I was pleasantly surprised by the vocals. I don't remember Cosmogenesis sounding quite as brutal.

i remember cosmogenesis vocals sounding awesomely brutal!

I'll have to revisit it again...last year I remember giving it like 10 spins, but for some reason the word brutality does not come to mind.

imo none of the 2 last obscura albums are enough brutal. the main reason is the production. i think it lacks something. the sound is jazzy and clean enough but doesnt help the brutal side of the band to be showed. i was speaking only about the vocals which are more brutal on cosmogenesis imo...

I've just listened to this album, hmmmm many good parts in each song, but somehow they ruin it everytime, however i couldn't find any "perfect song"

Written by Deadmeat on 23.04.2011 at 18:27

imo none of the 2 last obscura albums are enough brutal. the main reason is the production. i think it lacks something. the sound is jazzy and clean enough but doesnt help the brutal side of the band to be showed. i was speaking only about the vocals which are more brutal on cosmogenesis imo...

Ya I was only referring to the vocals. Cosmogenesis (even though I really enjoyed it) is overly polished; the music makes up for it thankfully, but it could have been a lot heavier if the production wasn't so thin (kind of an obvious conclusion).

Written by Troy Killjoy on 23.04.2011 at 23:08

Written by Deadmeat on 23.04.2011 at 18:27

imo none of the 2 last obscura albums are enough brutal. the main reason is the production. i think it lacks something. the sound is jazzy and clean enough but doesnt help the brutal side of the band to be showed. i was speaking only about the vocals which are more brutal on cosmogenesis imo...

Ya I was only referring to the vocals. Cosmogenesis (even though I really enjoyed it) is overly polished; the music makes up for it thankfully, but it could have been a lot heavier if the production wasn't so thin (kind of an obvious conclusion).

nice obvious conclusion!

It's not a matter of brutality for the vocals; I would say that Omnivium and Cosmogenesis are roughly the same in terms of brutal vocals...the versatility of Omnivium vocals tends to come across as weak, whereas the Cosmogenesis vocals were consistently powerful and focused, in my honest opinion, probably due to the excellent production. While Omnivium's production is better, they just can't pull off the versatile vocals... I'm quite surprised people enjoy the vocals on this album more...

Written by [user id=28526] on 23.04.2011 at 20:40

I've just listened to this album, hmmmm many good parts in each song, but somehow they ruin it everytime, however i couldn't find any "perfect song"

If you said that you found many good parts in each song, why give it a 6?

Written by JaimeLeonel on 28.04.2011 at 05:00

Written by [user id=28526] on 23.04.2011 at 20:40

I've just listened to this album, hmmmm many good parts in each song, but somehow they ruin it everytime, however i couldn't find any "perfect song"

If you said that you found many good parts in each song, why give it a 6?

Because after the "good parts" they just ruin it, with clean vocals and some annoying solos and riffs, am not saying its a bad album its just average for me.

At first glance this is an album chockfull of earcandy and sweepy melodic riffs.... but the more you listen to it the more you can't help but feel like they either tried way too hard or didn't try at all. It seems to be aimed at the new-to-metal generation for the fact that everything is made to sound spiffy and complicated but at the end nothing you've heard comes together in any meaningful way. It's all guitar sweeping halfglam and vocals that don't match. The only part of the album i enjoyed was the drumming.

Written by SymphonyImpaled on 14.05.2011 at 07:42

At first glance this is an album chockfull of earcandy and sweepy melodic riffs.... but the more you listen to it the more you can't help but feel like they either tried way too hard or didn't try at all. It seems to be aimed at the new-to-metal generation for the fact that everything is made to sound spiffy and complicated but at the end nothing you've heard comes together in any meaningful way. It's all guitar sweeping halfglam and vocals that don't match. The only part of the album i enjoyed was the drumming.

look mate it is obvious that the band is trying to do everything in the "much" way (technique etc) but it is also obvious that you must give this album many spins to grow on you... you'll discover great music behind all this complexity...

Written by Deadmeat on 14.05.2011 at 14:04

Written by SymphonyImpaled on 14.05.2011 at 07:42

At first glance this is an album chockfull of earcandy and sweepy melodic riffs.... but the more you listen to it the more you can't help but feel like they either tried way too hard or didn't try at all. It seems to be aimed at the new-to-metal generation for the fact that everything is made to sound spiffy and complicated but at the end nothing you've heard comes together in any meaningful way. It's all guitar sweeping halfglam and vocals that don't match. The only part of the album i enjoyed was the drumming.

look mate it is obvious that the band is trying to do everything in the "much" way (technique etc) but it is also obvious that you must give this album many spins to grow on you... you'll discover great music behind all this complexity...

that's true.

Omnivium is very different from Cosmogenesis:

1. The point has been made about production: the album is much darker and the sound is so much fuller. There is a totally different feel here. Now that Omnivium has been release, Cosmogenesis, while being more catchy I guess, sounds much thinner than Omnivium.

2. While there is still a lot of technical playing here, I think it is not the main point of Omnivium; it tries to convey a certain atmosphere; there is character in this album.

3. That is why it is a much more mature work than Cosmogenesis.

Written by K✞ulu on 15.05.2011 at 11:38

Written by Deadmeat on 14.05.2011 at 14:04

Written by SymphonyImpaled on 14.05.2011 at 07:42

At first glance this is an album chockfull of earcandy and sweepy melodic riffs.... but the more you listen to it the more you can't help but feel like they either tried way too hard or didn't try at all. It seems to be aimed at the new-to-metal generation for the fact that everything is made to sound spiffy and complicated but at the end nothing you've heard comes together in any meaningful way. It's all guitar sweeping halfglam and vocals that don't match. The only part of the album i enjoyed was the drumming.

look mate it is obvious that the band is trying to do everything in the "much" way (technique etc) but it is also obvious that you must give this album many spins to grow on you... you'll discover great music behind all this complexity...

that's true.

Omnivium is very different from Cosmogenesis:

1. The point has been made about production: the album is much darker and the sound is so much fuller. There is a totally different feel here. Now that Omnivium has been release, Cosmogenesis, while being more catchy I guess, sounds much thinner than Omnivium.

2. While there is still a lot of technical playing here, I think it is not the main point of Omnivium; it tries to convey a certain atmosphere; there is character in this album.

3. That is why it is a much more mature work than Cosmogenesis.

it surely is more mature. i remember Marcel saying in his review for cosmogenesis that the band needs to form their own sound and that he hopes they do it with the next releases and omnivium is exactly in this way. on the other hand i still dont like that much (as in cosmogenesis) the production that the band "uses". i'd like something more brutal. i believe it would fit better to their sound.

about the technical playing i'd agree and also disagree. i cosmogenesis i think that the technical playing ruined some songs. they where nothing more than technical songs. this doesnt happen now. every song has it's attitude. but i think that there are many moments also that the band is technical for the sake of being especially in some solos etc...

Written by Deadmeat on 15.05.2011 at 11:57

Written by K✞ulu on 15.05.2011 at 11:38

Written by Deadmeat on 14.05.2011 at 14:04

Written by SymphonyImpaled on 14.05.2011 at 07:42

At first glance this is an album chockfull of earcandy and sweepy melodic riffs.... but the more you listen to it the more you can't help but feel like they either tried way too hard or didn't try at all. It seems to be aimed at the new-to-metal generation for the fact that everything is made to sound spiffy and complicated but at the end nothing you've heard comes together in any meaningful way. It's all guitar sweeping halfglam and vocals that don't match. The only part of the album i enjoyed was the drumming.

look mate it is obvious that the band is trying to do everything in the "much" way (technique etc) but it is also obvious that you must give this album many spins to grow on you... you'll discover great music behind all this complexity...

that's true.

Omnivium is very different from Cosmogenesis:

1. The point has been made about production: the album is much darker and the sound is so much fuller. There is a totally different feel here. Now that Omnivium has been release, Cosmogenesis, while being more catchy I guess, sounds much thinner than Omnivium.

2. While there is still a lot of technical playing here, I think it is not the main point of Omnivium; it tries to convey a certain atmosphere; there is character in this album.

3. That is why it is a much more mature work than Cosmogenesis.

it surely is more mature. i remember Marcel saying in his review for cosmogenesis that the band needs to form their own sound and that he hopes they do it with the next releases and omnivium is exactly in this way. on the other hand i still dont like that much (as in cosmogenesis) the production that the band "uses". i'd like something more brutal. i believe it would fit better to their sound.

about the technical playing i'd agree and also disagree. i cosmogenesis i think that the technical playing ruined some songs. they where nothing more than technical songs. this doesnt happen now. every song has it's attitude. but i think that there are many moments also that the band is technical for the sake of being especially in some solos etc...

I don't know how make production more brutal to tell you the truth, but I like what I hear sound-wise on this album. Can you give me an example of some album that you would like Obscura to kind of sound like.

I listened to the two albums in a row today, and I actually have to say that there is not THAT much difference in sound, and even less so in style. It basically is the same Obscura as we know them from Cosmogenesis, but with some fresh ideas.

As far as technical playing I don't know where exactly you consider it over the top. I mean if you take Velocity and say that they are taking it too far with that solo, I would not agree because it is quite original.

But anyways, what is ridiculous about this album for me personally is that despite it being less catchy than Cosmogenesis, I enjoy it just as much. But I also have to say that Cosmogenesis has a character of its own.

Written by K✞ulu on 15.05.2011 at 22:51

I don't know how make production more brutal to tell you the truth, but I like what I hear sound-wise on this album. Can you give me an example of some album that you would like Obscura to kind of sound like.

I listened to the two albums in a row today, and I actually have to say that there is not THAT much difference in sound, and even less so in style. It basically is the same Obscura as we know them from Cosmogenesis, but with some fresh ideas.

As far as technical playing I don't know where exactly you consider it over the top. I mean if you take Velocity and say that they are taking it too far with that solo, I would not agree because it is quite original.

But anyways, what is ridiculous about this album for me personally is that despite it being less catchy than Cosmogenesis, I enjoy it just as much. But I also have to say that Cosmogenesis has a character of its own.

i dont want to give an example as i cannot say (and be sure) "they should sound like this". it's just i'd like the guitars a bit lower tuned and the sound of the drums more "attacking" and violent. about the solos and the technicality i wont say anything till i completely "digest" the album because i may end up liking a lot what i could mention now...

After complete digestion of this album, I'm giving it a sincere 10. Of course, it's not perfect, but in my opinion it's closer to a 10 than a 9 and since MS doesn't allow .5 increments, it's my final word on this masterpiece. Can't wait for the next!

For anyone who hasn't yet bought a physical copy but wants to, don't hesitate. Obviously the music is awesome, but the booklet is extremely professional and the layout is as complex as the music these guys write. The holographic artwork and photos of the band members is sick. Easily one of the best purchases of 2011 for me.

I agree with most people here. such a qualitative album. i am enjoying more and more with every listen...!

Now if only Obscura could knock off that bland Septic Flesh from the Top of 2011!

Written by [user id=100467] on 24.05.2011 at 16:01

Now if only Obscura could knock off that bland Septic Flesh from the Top of 2011!

If you ask me they should be bed-fellows somewhere near the middle of the pack.

Written by [user id=100467] on 24.05.2011 at 16:01

Now if only Obscura could knock off that bland Septic Flesh from the Top of 2011!

why would you all people care that much about "who is 1st in the 2011 list"? is it that important???

Written by Troy Killjoy on 23.05.2011 at 18:24

For anyone who hasn't yet bought a physical copy but wants to, don't hesitate. Obviously the music is awesome, but the booklet is extremely professional and the layout is as complex as the music these guys write. The holographic artwork and photos of the band members is sick. Easily one of the best purchases of 2011 for me.

Dammit. I'm kind of upset I got it on vinyl now. Just a gatefold with some cool artwork and such, but I wish it came with the booklet or something. Oh well.

Written by Deadmeat on 24.05.2011 at 16:19

Written by [user id=100467] on 24.05.2011 at 16:01

Now if only Obscura could knock off that bland Septic Flesh from the Top of 2011!

why would you all people care that much about "who is 1st in the 2011 list"? is it that important???

You are right-- it's not too important. However, I do believe people should be paying attention to this release more, and more passive metal fans would see it if it was rated #1. It's not my #1 album of the year, but it's definitely in the top 10 so far. And Septic Flesh-- that's the worst album I have listened to this year (but I haven't listened to many).

Written by [user id=100467] on 24.05.2011 at 21:07

You are right-- it's not too important. However, I do believe people should be paying attention to this release more, and more passive metal fans would see it if it was rated #1. It's not my #1 album of the year, but it's definitely in the top 10 so far. And Septic Flesh-- that's the worst album I have listened to this year (but I haven't listened to many).

imo the Septicflesh album is very good. it is not flawless but Omnivium isn't either. they are totally different and you shouldn't care soo much about everything else except those albums you love! i am listening a lot to omnivium the last days and with each listen i love it more. but "The Great Mass" is also a nice album and there are many many people who love it so let's concentrate only in what we like a lot!

CELESTIAL SPHERES!!!!!

This band isn't supposed to be brutal. It's supposed to be amazing. It's music not some fucking retarded death metal scene.

Written by SymphonyImpaled on 14.05.2011 at 07:42

At first glance this is an album chockfull of earcandy and sweepy melodic riffs.... but the more you listen to it the more you can't help but feel like they either tried way too hard or didn't try at all. It seems to be aimed at the new-to-metal generation for the fact that everything is made to sound spiffy and complicated but at the end nothing you've heard comes together in any meaningful way. It's all guitar sweeping halfglam and vocals that don't match. The only part of the album i enjoyed was the drumming.

This is a band of musicians. They don't give a shit about sounding metal, they just wanna sound like Obscura. If you knew anything about playing guitar you'd understand that this isn't guitar sweeping halfglam bullcrap.

LoL, Go to CoB shit and be the most mature person posting. Got to Obscura and everyone is politely sharing their thoughts on this album. xD
But I still love CoB even though their followers are extremely retarded.

SymphonyImpaled just rubbed me the worst way with that post. I can tell from his taste in music that he wouldn't really understand how amazing this album truly is so I cannot take his post seriously anymore. Just a really lame opinion on something never to be understood.

"Too many notes"
progressive death metal is the classical music of modern times.

Written by [user id=100467] on 17.03.2011 at 22:51

I'm impressed with Omnivium all around. The technical sections are superior to ones on Cosmogenesis and it's very very proggy....the clean vocals and the experimentation kind of makes it akin to Gorod's Process of a New Decline for me. However, I do believe it is far inferior to Cosmogenesis.
1. The vocals are just....derivative for me. A total reversal of the last album. The first four songs of Cosmogenesis had insane vocals and the ones on this record are....lacking.
2. Some duds, particularly Septuagint and Velocity. These songs are located at vital points of the record that need to be stunning, but fail to offer the same punch as...the whole Cosmogenesis did.

Repeated listens are needed to truly digest this beauty...might I say the best tech death of the year so far! Clearly the most technical ENTERTAINING band anyone could look for (note the word "entertaining," Necrophagist). A solid 8/10.

lol I got crossfaded and listened to septuagint. It was soo good I literally thought the song was trying to bone me.

Written by Gigantidild on 10.06.2011 at 02:33

Written by SymphonyImpaled on 14.05.2011 at 07:42

At first glance this is an album chockfull of earcandy and sweepy melodic riffs.... but the more you listen to it the more you can't help but feel like they either tried way too hard or didn't try at all. It seems to be aimed at the new-to-metal generation for the fact that everything is made to sound spiffy and complicated but at the end nothing you've heard comes together in any meaningful way. It's all guitar sweeping halfglam and vocals that don't match. The only part of the album i enjoyed was the drumming.

This is a band of musicians. They don't give a shit about sounding metal, they just wanna sound like Obscura. If you knew anything about playing guitar you'd understand that this isn't guitar sweeping halfglam bullcrap.

You don't need to be a guitar player to think it sounds like tryhard crap.

Written by SymphonyImpaled on 10.06.2011 at 03:30

Written by Gigantidild on 10.06.2011 at 02:33

Written by SymphonyImpaled on 14.05.2011 at 07:42

At first glance this is an album chockfull of earcandy and sweepy melodic riffs.... but the more you listen to it the more you can't help but feel like they either tried way too hard or didn't try at all. It seems to be aimed at the new-to-metal generation for the fact that everything is made to sound spiffy and complicated but at the end nothing you've heard comes together in any meaningful way. It's all guitar sweeping halfglam and vocals that don't match. The only part of the album i enjoyed was the drumming.

This is a band of musicians. They don't give a shit about sounding metal, they just wanna sound like Obscura. If you knew anything about playing guitar you'd understand that this isn't guitar sweeping halfglam bullcrap.

You don't need to be a guitar player to think it sounds like tryhard crap.

Firstly, I hope this new Metal Storm user learns to respect other people and their opinions. She is not even attempting to engage with our points about the album. We recognize the technical proficiency of the album and the inspiration of classical music on this record. Some of the arrangements, however, have some problems for us as we have stated. This user bears a certain resemblance to a guy commenting on the Morbid Angel album who just quotes you and puts a one line spam-like response.

Secondly, YOU have articulated the troubles of the album in a way I can understand. I found that the songs Septuagint and Velocity had excellent, technically proficient guitar work (the Velocity solo in particular just FLOORS me), but that the song as a whole cannot come together in a meaningful way or just come across as less riveting compared to the rest of the album. As for the vocals on those songs, they are definitely a step down from Cosmogenesis, in my opinion. I wouldn't go so far as to say they don't match with the music, but I can certainly see why people would have problems with them. Obviously this album is very calculated and precise and features lots of polished, ultra-technical riffs, but I do find there are a few murky things in here that are attractive to me as a fan of old-school death metal. What's your opinion on Ocean Gateways and Prismal Dawn?
And finally, thank you for sharing your opinion of the album. The more and more people express themselves, the more and more I come to a better idea of what the album means. While our ratings are a little different, we seem to share many of the same ideas.

Have to say I'm with SymphonyImpaled on this. I've stuck with the album for 4 playthroughs in the hope its apparent magic would surface but as he says it really is "tryhard crap", indicative of a modern generation of lifeless, soulless guitar players masturbating mindlessly. Ok that's not completely true. At times I heard some Gorod/Anata level brilliance but it was relatively infrequent. Some of the melody was nice and that combined with the occasional moments of excellence saves this from being a bad album, but one that I've heard many times before. There's just sooo much of this generic stuff around at the moment, I'm amazed people distinguish between them at times. An unfortunate poster child of scene at this point ultimately.

Fact is people will always be impressed by flashy musicianship but it's not, and has never been, an excuse to put songwriting in the back seat.

Anyway you can consider me the extreme end of death metal cynicism, I'm pretty sure I've made that abundantly clear many times before.

Written by [user id=4365] on 10.06.2011 at 18:40

Have to say I'm with SymphonyImpaled on this. I've stuck with the album for 4 playthroughs in the hope its apparent magic would surface but as he says it really is "tryhard crap", indicative of a modern generation of lifeless, soulless guitar players masturbating mindlessly. Ok that's not completely true. At times I heard some Gorod/Anata level brilliance but it was relatively infrequent. Some of the melody was nice and that combined with the occasional moments of excellence saves this from being a bad album, but one that I've heard many times before. There's just sooo much of this generic stuff around at the moment, I'm amazed people distinguish between them at times. An unfortunate poster child of scene at this point ultimately.

Fact is people will always be impressed by flashy musicianship but it's not, and has never been, an excuse to put songwriting in the back seat.

Anyway you can consider me the extreme end of death metal cynicism, I'm pretty sure I've made that abundantly clear many times before.

well i am one of those who said that they dont need to show ALL their technical skills to create a good album. but i disagree in general with what you said mate. this album has some very nice songs and moments. Vortex Omnivium and Euclidean Elements are AWESOME songs for example. OK i dont feel that the band plays "masterpiece music" and i wont give them the "10" for this record (i'll give them a 9 probably) but they have evolved from Cosmogenesis, and they seem to try to play MUSIC behind of all this technicality. Ok, you couldnt get into this album. this doesnt mean that it is shit and that everyone who likes it is impressed by guitar masturbators etc....