Called to Rise

Recently, I reviewed Oblivion's latest effort, "The Path Towards...," and came to the unfortunate but inevitable conclusion that it was garbage, not worthwhile in any way, and that it pissed me off.  In that review I mentioned how flawless their debut album, "Called to Rise," was.  I have reviewed this album before, but I find my old writing style weak and ultimately boring.  Also, a lot of what I said was either biased or just wrong.  So I am re-reviewing this album.

Oblivion was founded by Nick Vasallo, "the father of deathcore."  "Called to Rise" has some deathcore influence, but it is not overpowering.  It's just there.  There's an occasional breakdown or deathcore-like riff, but it doesn't sound bad (in other words, it doesn't sound like Slaughter to Prevail).  Something that is more prevalent is the classical influence on this album.  This can be traced back to Vasallo again because he is also a modernist composer.  So this album is basically Necrophagist minus the stop-and-go style.  It's Necrophagist with a cleaner flow and a pinch of deathcore.

"Called to Rise" is perfect.  It starts with this cool intro track that recites some Bible verse from Ezekiel or something.  It sounds cool and it's a great intro.  Then it goes into "Black Veils of Justice," a killer beginner.  This is not my favorite song off of the album, nor is it one of my top five, but it's still a great start because of its aggressive and thick riffs.

Like I said in my first review of this album and my review of "The Path Towards...," this album get better and better as it goes on.  All the way up to track 10, "Multiverse," it just escalates ("Multiverse" being where the album peaks).  The turning point in this album is at "Canon 1 in E minor" This song that shows the most classical influence given by Vasallo.  After this instrumental break in the album comes "Annunaki."  This track is one of my favorites (as are the three after it as well as "Binary Souls").  All four of these tracks after the instrumental are absolutely stellar.  Each one has their own theme, but the feeling given by the chunky production and musicianship are constant throughout each track.  In other words, they're all different enough to be their own songs, but they're similar enough to give Oblivion a specific sound (a sound that was kept for their sophomore release, but at what cost).

This album is an ideal album.  It's perfect, full of detailed planning and thought-out riffs and songs.  The structure of the album is perfect because, like I said, it gets better as it goes on.  When bands put their best track last, it makes me happy because that's how an album should be.  The last track should be the grand finale, the song that wraps up the album and includes skills seen from all over the album.  And "Multiverse" does just that.

Something I forgot to mention previously was the progressive influence that can be seen on here too.  This is something else that was (for the most part) lost on "The Path Towards..."  Every so often, one might hear a polyrhythm.  It's not common, and it takes multiple listens to notice (it took about five listens for me to pick up), but it's definitely cool when one does notice it.  This is another thing I love about "Called to Rise" is that after listening to this album for over a year, I can listen to this album today and still find something new.  There is so much to this album that does not always meet the ear.

Now do you see why I hate "The Path Towards..." so much???  Their second album has one (1) progressive section and it lasts maybe four measures.  It loses the classical influence and gains a generic deathcore one.  The complexity and diversity is lost too.  I've listened to their sophomore release more than their debut and, other than the time I actually caught the progressive part, it always sounded the same!  "Called to Rise" is my favorite metal release of 2013, and definitely one of my top ten metal albums of all time.  This is pure opinion, but, if you listen to it, you'll hear what I mean.

Overall Rating: 100%

Originally written for themetalvoid.wordpress.com