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Obitus - Strategema
Release: 2006Label: Self-released
By: Anders
Posted: Sep 26, 2006
The Swedish duo has returned with a promotional EP, the follow-up to 2001's "Coup De Grâce", the 3 tracks on "Strategema" comes from the recordings that should have been the band's first full length album "Sonnilon", an album that eventually got dropped as the band has started to work on a new full length that hopefully soon will see the light of day, until then we'll have this 3 track release to make the days shorter and to carve Obitus back into our minds.
The band delivers a grim blend of harsh death and black metal, with emphasis on the latter. Obitus did already show their flair for making good songs on the first demo, and they have developed them, the 3 tracks on this release are furious, blazing and catches on right away. The guitar play is fast and aggressive, on top of the fast and hellish riffs, the band incorporates some really good melodies, atmospheric, cold and sinister. The bass is heavy and rumbling, thundering away beneath the massive wall of guitar. The drums on the "Coup De Grâce" demo, was delivered by a drum-machine, and if it's the same on this one they’ve stepped the programming skills up, as it sounds real, no matter what the drumming is good and pretty varied and sounds good. The vocal is a grim growled rasp, effective and straight in your face, even if you try you can't escape the harsh bile.
The material on "Strategema" is written and recorded during 2001 and 2002, so it is of course not representative for Obitus anno 2006, but is the natural predecessor to "Coup De Grâce", a demo I have been listening a lot to through the years. Aggressive, fast and brutal war metal delivered relentless and with emphasis on sweeping you off your feet. The better and heavier production the material has compared to the demo does also do the material good, there seems to be more power and energy behind the performances, the music is getting shoved into your ears! The duo of Anders Ahlbäck and Johan Huldtgren are talented and guarantors for violent and atmospheric metal and I for one can't wait to hear what they have coming for us. Though when listening to "Strategema" it is also kind of sad that the full album never has seen the light of day, as the material is really strong.
The band delivers a grim blend of harsh death and black metal, with emphasis on the latter. Obitus did already show their flair for making good songs on the first demo, and they have developed them, the 3 tracks on this release are furious, blazing and catches on right away. The guitar play is fast and aggressive, on top of the fast and hellish riffs, the band incorporates some really good melodies, atmospheric, cold and sinister. The bass is heavy and rumbling, thundering away beneath the massive wall of guitar. The drums on the "Coup De Grâce" demo, was delivered by a drum-machine, and if it's the same on this one they’ve stepped the programming skills up, as it sounds real, no matter what the drumming is good and pretty varied and sounds good. The vocal is a grim growled rasp, effective and straight in your face, even if you try you can't escape the harsh bile.
The material on "Strategema" is written and recorded during 2001 and 2002, so it is of course not representative for Obitus anno 2006, but is the natural predecessor to "Coup De Grâce", a demo I have been listening a lot to through the years. Aggressive, fast and brutal war metal delivered relentless and with emphasis on sweeping you off your feet. The better and heavier production the material has compared to the demo does also do the material good, there seems to be more power and energy behind the performances, the music is getting shoved into your ears! The duo of Anders Ahlbäck and Johan Huldtgren are talented and guarantors for violent and atmospheric metal and I for one can't wait to hear what they have coming for us. Though when listening to "Strategema" it is also kind of sad that the full album never has seen the light of day, as the material is really strong.
Rating: 8/10
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