01. In Search Of The Triumph Beyond... (Obsidian Overture)
02. Introspection III
03. Shallow Ecstasy
04. Shed This Erroneous Skin
05. Blood Mirage
06. Halcyon Memory: Dreamscapes Across The Blue
07. Silver, Ashen Tears
08. The Final Pursuit Of Light
09. Becoming The Stone Icon (Obsidian Reprise)

Tómarúm realized the promise of their first recordings with a blistering debut album in 2022; Ash In Realms Of Stone Icons was a full-pelt onslaught of progressive black metal, although it did leave some room for the band to implement variety in tone on future efforts. The band seem to have realized that, as Beyond Obsidian Euphoria exhibits maturity on that front.

That debut album was created by founding guitarist/vocalist duo Kyle Walburn and Brandon Iacovella, although Tómarúm had already been fleshed out into a 5-piece by the time of its release. This full-band ensemble (featuring musicians of serious pedigree, including the increasingly busy Chris Stropoli) offer the first fruits of their collaborative labours three years on, in the form of this gargantuan 70-minute record. Mercifully, however, while Beyond Obsidian Euphoria is very much a maximalist release in terms of the sheer quantity and vibrancy of the music incorporated into it, it features enough dynamic variation to avoid the fatigue that an extra 10 minutes of the approach from the debut would have induced.

I called the band’s sound on the debut ‘progressive black metal’ in the opening paragraph, and that is a fair description, but it also overlooks the significant role that technical death metal performed in that album, from the fretless bass and jackhammer drum barrages to the complex riffs and shredding melodic solos. This time around, tech-death is still vital to the album’s DNA, but black metal is less of a central feature of the music. As a result, the music this time around veers a bit closer to the style of Fallujah, particularly during the multiple occasions where blasting drum assaults are paired with airy, melodic guitar leads and textures.

However, Fallujah have never written songs as long as most of the ones on Beyond Obsidian Euphoria; with 6 tracks running for over 7 minutes and one of them exceeding double that number, this is unmistakably prog. The album kicks off with the 10-minute “In Search Of The Triumph Beyond... (Obsidian Overture)”; after a synth-based intro (which is reprised at the very end of the album to form a circle), the band launch into a ballistic drum barrage accompanied by pyrotechnic guitar leads and shimmering post-rock tremolo layers. The increased tech-death focus is then emphasized with the complex riffing during the song’s verses, which are contrasted with those soaring Fallujah-esque moments.

A few minutes into the song, a feature appears that was used sparingly on Ash In Realms Of Stone Icons, but which is a more prominent factor this time around, namely clean vocals. They appear semi-frequently across the album; in truth, I’m not always entirely convinced by the execution of their performance, but they offer some degree of range, spanning from softer croons during “Silver, Ashen Tears” reminiscent of acts such as Arctic Sleep, to firmer vocals that are borderline shouting during “Shallow Ecstacy”. On top of clean vocals, “Obsidian Overture” also offers a break in its intense attack with a mellow bridge midway through comprised of synths, acoustic guitar and meandering fretless bass; as noted above, the band’s debut was for large stretches operating at (or close to) 100%, so the increased frequency of clean passages and other de-escalations in intensity across the new record are welcome. Indeed, “Introspection III” is dedicated almost entirely to clean, melodic instrumentation.

Among its many minutes and gargantuan songs, there are a number of memorable and exciting moments to be encountered. Tómarúm’s riff game is generally on point, with a particularly tasty one very early in “Shallow Ecstasy”, while the closing couple of minutes of “Halcyon Memory: Dreamscapes Across The Blue” offer some of the best examples of the band’s consistently strong soloing. “Shed This Erronous Skin” places the group’s extreme and melodic elements alongside one another in a rather complementary manner, while “Blood Mirage” is a short, sharp death metal ditty. Finally, after the convoluted extravagance of the 14-minute penultimate and climactic track “The Final Pursuit Of Light”, there’s a nice dreamy melodic feel to album closer “Becoming The Stone Icon (Obsidian Reprise)”, particularly with the clean vocal harmonizing.

This is a huge album, and I could easily dedicate another 3 paragraphs to dissecting its many long songs, but you can rest assured if you have a general interest in extreme prog that you will encounter moments to enjoy and appreciate in all those songs. Beyond Obsidian Euphoria is a very impressive collection of music; that being said, on top of the occasional issues I have with the clean vocal sections, I am also slightly unsure to what extent all the comprising components of the album translate into an album that is as good as it is clearly aiming to be. Minute-to-minute, it’s a very exciting album, but the transitions between sections within songs aren’t always smooth, and there’s no song currently standing out to me as a truly compelling complete journey rather than merely an ensemble of cool sections.

There’s no doubt that this is an accomplished, ambitious and virtuosic release, and the extent of its complexity means that it could reward continued listening over the coming months to the point that I ultimately come to re-assess it. At present, however, while I think it’s a very good album and enjoy it quite a lot, I do think it lacks just enough in terms of songwriting aptitude such that it falls short of the impact of the truly stellar extreme progressive metal albums of recent years (thinking of you, Woe).