Ubi Certa Pax Est

Originally released independently in January 2016, Ubi Certa Pax Est is the third full length album from Italian black metal band Obscure Devotion. The album was re-released on CD in March of 2017 through the combined effort of Third-I-Rex and Dark Horizon Records. Ten tracks of destructive, modernized black metal are the order of the day.

The majority of the album plays through with blasting drums and fiery, chaotic trem riffing. The deep, growled vocals are acerbic and gravel-laden. The modern production job, especially with the drums, offers a surprising clarity, much like recent Behemoth or Hate, though the death metal influence is a bit more reigned in. With Ubi Certa Pax Est, Obscure Devotion offer heavy and pummeling black metal, twisting and turning with serpentine songwriting. Aside from the intro and the two parts of “Arrivederci”, the songs are on the longer side, offering plenty of time to toy with pattern changes and alternating riffs; resulting in a dynamic and full bodied sound.

Though most of the album plays through in a modernized style of thick, slightly deathened black metal, there are some surprising moments offering stark melodies twining around pummeling percussion, clearly inspired by the likes of Dissection and Sacramentum. If nothing else, these melodic moments offer a slight respite from the punishing black metal, though even these moments are quite heavy. Ubi Certa Pax Est is a fine offering from this established Italian act and one that should please fans of the style. My only complaint with the album is that the crystalline production sounds almost mechanical at times, though it remains a quite enjoyable effort.