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Obliveon > Nemesis > Reviews > Writhingchaos
Obliveon - Nemesis

Definitely quite obscure - 98%

Writhingchaos, July 31st, 2016

I ended up discovering these guys while checking for artists similar to Martyr since I was in a really huge phase of the band at the time. When I heard their music and did a bit of research on them, I seriously could not believe the fact that with the exception of a few die-hard fans of technical thrash/ tech death, forget underrated, this band is literally unheard of, even now! Which is just sad and goes to show the unfair state of affairs even back then. Not that most of the obscure and unique bands out there never got noticed eventually, but man these guys really seem to have fallen through the cracks. This band is simply superb and once can’t help but think what might have happened in the mid-90s had this band become more popular than it did, perhaps leading to a wave of metal artists taking inspiration from their sound. Quite an intriguing thought. "Dynamo", "Factory Of Delusion" (probably the most thrash based song on the album with a ripping solo to boot) and the foot-stomping title track are simply choke full of riffs married with stunning technicality coming at you from every angle, which is probably why this album needs more than just a few casual spins to digest for the uninitiated. Take heed gentlemen - this is most certainly not the kind of music you simply put in the background while headbanging and knocking back a couple of beers with your pals. You have plenty of rethrash albums or some of the classic 80s thrash albums for that fix. This goes way deeper than any of that.

True their overall template in a nutshell is prog thrash, but the groovier rhythms and the choppy riffing of the songs sheened to a razor sharp technicality rare for that time, prove that Obliveon were definitely out there and way ahead of their contemporaries for sure. On the topic of their overall sound, I’d say a mix of mid-era Death in terms of overall structure, the technical riffing of Rust In Peace era Megadeth (oh yes!) and a touch of the technical thrash influence that Meshuggah displayed on Contradictions Collapse and Destroy Erase Improve. One of the most simple yet best riff progressions on the album occurs around 1:14 in "Obscure Mindways" leading to an even more phenomenal set of riffs showcasing the band's fetish for unconventional riff patterns and progressions. The intricate bass-work at times definitely point to quite a heavy Atheist/Cynic influence. In fact you could easily describe this sound of this album as a less technical Meshuggah without too much of the jarring technicality and solos, but with a much larger emphasis on death/thrash/groove riffs in general as opposed to the poly-rhythms and technicality of the songs in general. The final song "Strays Of The Soul" is the perfect culmination of all the unique elements that the band is known for.

The vocals are a throatier and gruffier Jens Kidman shout perfectly matching and mirroring the overall mechanical feel of the album. The riffs are a blend of both the fast and slow with generous dollops of technicality in the mix as well. The guitars also utilize a lot of chugging but unlike most other bands they never overdo it, instead utilizing the chugs in between most of the speedier technical bits. There are no solos but some of the leads tend to evoke a very fusion/jazzy feel strangely enough. Check out “The Thinker's Lair” and “Frosted Avowals” for further proof. They’re definitely unique that’s for sure and I have yet to hear another band coming close to the unique sound on this album. No it’s not avant garde at all, but the way the band mixed up different elements of death, thrash, technical metal and a bit of prog at the time was definitely not something that had been attempted before. In a nutshell, one can say the recipe wasn't really unique, but the way the band mixed it up definitely was.

While some old-school metal fans would probably find this a tad hard to digest, I would recommend this to both tech-death and tech-thrash fans in a heartbeat, not to mention fans of the more experimental and groovier side of metal. Feast your ears on this hidden gem.