Ne Obliviscaris
Urn (Digipak)

About five decades after the emergence of metal music, it isn't easy to create something new, impress critics and fans alike and push boundaries. Australian quintet Ne Obliviscaris does just that. The band has its very own style that is compared to groups such as Persefone, Opeth and Enslaved among others. While those comparisons make sense for certain aspects of the band's style such as the progressive musicianship for Persefone, the combination of moody interludes with emotional outbursts for Opeth or the epic soundscapes for Enslaved, Ne Obliviscaris is one of the most unique bands in the contemporary metal scene and deserves more attention and acclaim. The only contemporary band I could think of that has a slightly similar sound minus the classical string instruments would be the excellent Black Crown Initiate. One element that stands out is how fluid the band sounds despite the technical challenges of its extreme progressive metal style. Most bands get lost in tracks above ten minutes but Ne Obliviscaris never repeat themselves and make their tracks sound half as long as they actually are and even have the audacity to add a second part to such tracks of epic proportions. Rarely has progressive metal sounded as clever, coherent and entertaining. The way the band combines aggressive parts with smooth parts sound stunningly smooth. They can start a song with decent acoustic guitars, melancholic viola sounds and longing violin passages and then quick up the pace with fast and versatile drumming, complex yet emotive guitar play and even make the classical instruments sound dramatic, energizing and fast. The combination of clean vocals and harsh vocals also works perfectly. The male clean vocals almost sound androgynous, reminding of alternative pop and rock bands such as Pet Shop Boys and Placebo without ever sounding bland or predictable. The vibrant harsh vocals remind of death and gothic metal of the early nineties, recalling bands such as Amorphis and Darkthrone in their early years. The vocalists complement each other perfectly and add to the instrumental intensity. Even the production offers the best of both worlds. In the calmer passages, each instrument can be distinguished as perfectly as in the most professional recording of classical music while the heavier parts unleash a furious storm upon the listener. The decent use of classical string instruments and acoustic guitars make the band stand out among other progressive extreme metal bands. This band can't be classified as symphonic metal however since these instruments don't dominate the others but are skillfully employed to complement them. These instruments are equally used in dramatic and melodic finales of many songs but also in instrumental interludes that calm the overall atmosphere down and give the listener the chance to take a breath, live the music more intensively and give the listening experience some thought. Urn is an album that exploits Ne Obliviscaris' strengths incredibly. Dramatic up-tempo tunes like ''Intra Venus'' are followed by smoother songs like ''Eyrie'' while other tunes like the incredible opener ''Libera (Part I) - Saturnine Spheres'' discover the band's numerous soundscapes in coherent progression without ever getting lost. The songwriting is so skilled that it's hard to believe this is only the quintet's third full length effort. The musicians play their respective instruments perfectly. The vocalists are so different yet united by their passion and complement each other perfectly. If you are looking for something brave, fresh and intellectual in the metal scene, pick this album up and spread the band's name.

It's all technical and heavy, I guess, but rarely goes anywhere interesting. Neither riffs or drums offer much in the way of attention-grabbing creativity or particular intensity