Anaesthetic Inhalation Ritual

Let me start by commending the ferocious vocalist of Obscure Sphinx. She has a croon that is comparable to some of the best alternative and indie rock female vocalists of the 90's and 2000's, but boasting an unusually broad pitch range. She also has a very nasty and anguished hardcore style roar that reminds me of the coincidentally named SfinX, vocalist of Norwegian gothic metal band Ram-Zet, who I always thought of as like the female Jamey Jasta. I don't know if she, or vocalists like this with infinite power and rage, have any kind of technique that protects their vocal chords from getting wrecked, but it sounds like they don't. If I tapped into the pit of my soul and screamed with primal fury like that for half of a song I would barely be able to whisper for the next two days. Sometimes she doesn't even sound human, like some sort of pissed off vulture from the Underworld.

The guitars and rhythm section are groove city, but they just aren't quite the same as the musicianship they would show on the next two releases "Void Mother," and the undoubtedly superior of the three, "Epitaphs." The only tracks I would say are on par with the songs on "Epitaphs" are the last two, "Bleed In Me Pt. 2" and "Paragnomen." Containing some very heavy and very creepy low end riffs that are almost Meshuggah-esque, they foreshadow their very fast increase in quality over the next five years. But as a whole, most of the material is more like an accompaniment for the vocalist rather than being a part of the song. The tone of the guitars is somewhat redeeming, sounding almost as crunchy and low-end as sludge champions Admiral Angry, at least for the heavy riffs. Some of the cleaner riffs are even more dry, using delay and a minimalist approach that doesn't really seem to go anywhere or make any sort of lasting impression. Also... I can't really hear the bass. Is there a bassist? Is their bassist Jason Newsted? If a tree falls in a forest and nobody's around to hear it, does it sound like a doom metal bassist?

I can't in all good consciousness say that you should skip this album, because overall, Obscure Sphinx is a great band and they made quite a splash with this debut. The attention they attracted is quite a feat, especially since it was 2011, when there was a pretty gigantic wave of new metal artists coming out of the woodwork, as well as many enhancements in technology that made it easier to make, promote and access music. Maybe my appreciation of this album was downplayed by having heard "Epitaphs" and "Void Mother" first, and having listened to "Epitaphs" far more times than the three albums put together. It's enjoyable and grooves pretty hard, but isn't quite as wildly emotive as their later releases.