Obscura
| Obscura | |
|---|---|
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.jpg) Obscura at Hellfest 2010, in the foreground Linus Klausenitzer, Steffen Kummerer and Christian Münzner, in the background Hannes Grossmann on drums |
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| General information | |
| origin | Landshut , Germany |
| Genre (s) | Technical death metal , melodic death metal |
| founding | 2002 |
| Website | www.realmofobscura.com |
| Founding members | |
| Steffen Kummerer | |
Electric guitar |
Armin Seitz (until 2004) |
Guttural vocals, electric bass
|
Martin Ketzer (until 2004) |
Percussion , also cello (studio, 2004)
|
Jonas Baumgartl (until 2007) |
| Current occupation | |
Guttural vocals, electric guitar |
Steffen Kummerer |
Electric guitar |
Christian Münzner (2008–2014, since 2020) |
bass |
Jeroen Paul Thesseling (2007–2011, since 2020) |
Drums |
David Diepold (since 2020) |
| former members | |
Electric guitar |
Jürgen Zintz (2004–2005; †) |
Electric guitar |
Markus Lempsch (2005-2007) |
Electric guitar |
Johannes Rennig (2007) |
Electric bass |
Azmo (2004) |
Electric bass |
Andreas 'Hank' Nusko (2004-2005) |
Electric bass |
Gerd Pleschgatternig (2005) |
Electric bass |
Jonas Fischer (2005-2007) |
Drums |
Hannes Grossmann (2007-2014) |
Electric guitar |
Tom Geldschläger (2014-2015) |
Electric bass |
Linus Klausenitzer (2011-2020) |
Drums |
Sebastian Lanser (2014-2020) |
Electric guitar |
Rafael Trujillo (2015-2020) |
| Live support and session musicians | |
Guttural vocals, guitar |
Victor "V. Santura" B. (studio guttural vocals: 2004, 2008, studio guitar: 1 solo 2004) |
guitar |
Stephan Bergbauer (studio guitar: 1 solo 2004) |
guitar |
Matthias Röderer (studio guitar: 1 song 2004) |
guitar |
Thorsten Bauer (studio guitar: 1 song 2004) |
guitar |
Tymon Kruidenier (studio guitar: 1 solo 2008) |
guitar |
Ron Jarzombek (studio guitar: 1 solo 2008) |
guitar |
Tommy Talamanca (studio guitar: 1 solo 2010) |
guitar |
Florian "Morean" M. (studio guitar: 1 solo 2010) |
bass |
Martl Bauer (studio bass: 1 song 2004) |
bass |
Jacob Schmidt (European tour bass: 2009, live bass: 2010, 2011) |
bass |
Steve di Giorgio (Japanese tour bass: 2010) |
Drums |
Matthias "Seraph" L. (Blasting Diversity Tour Drums: 2007) |
Obscura ( lat. : Dark ) is a German technical death metal - band , which in 2002 Landshut was founded.
The band name refers to the Gorguts album of the same name , which at the time was only recorded very cautiously due to the many stylistic influences within the scene. Obscura is still influenced by this approach of combining the most varied of styles.
history
Foundation and style development
The band was founded in 2002 by Steffen Kummerer (guitar) and Jonas Baumgartl (drums) under the name Illegimitation , although there were still considerable black metal influences. Shortly afterwards Martin Ketzer took over the vocals and the bass and Armin Seitz the second guitar. In this early formation, the first concerts, three mini tours and festivals were played and in 2003 a first, self-titled demo was recorded under the direction of V. Santura ( Dark Fortress ) .
During the preparations for the debut album Retribution , the majority of the members left the band, so the recordings were initially delayed. Finally, in 2004, the debut Retribution was recorded with a new line-up under Alex Krull ( Atrocity ), although the album was not officially released until 2006 due to organizational and financial problems. V. Santura did most of the vocals on this album. The album contains a cover version of the song Lack of Comprehension by Death , which, according to the band members, placed particular emphasis on a faithful reproduction.
After another line-up change, Markus Lempsch on second guitar and Jonas Fischer on bass in 2006 played the first European tour as support for Suffocation . In the same year, various larger festivals such as the German Up from the Ground , Mountains of Death in Switzerland and the Czech Brutal Assault were played.
Markus Lempsch left the band in spring 2007 and was replaced by Johannes Rennig ( Profanity ); founding member Jonas Baumgartl left the band in summer 2007. With Seraph from Dark Fortress on drums, the first 4-week headlining tour through Europe was played in September 2007 , after which Jonas Fischer left the band.
New line-up (from 2007)
At the end of 2007, well-known musicians Hannes Grossmann (formerly Necrophagist ) on drums and Jeroen Paul Thesseling (formerly Pestilence ) on bass joined the band. Thesseling was already in discussion as bass player when recording Retribution . At the beginning of 2008 it was announced that Christian Münzner (formerly Defeated Sanity and Necrophagist) would replace Johannes Rennig on the electric guitar. After recording a pre-production of three tracks from the new album Cosmogenesis , a contract with Relapse Records was signed. After Necrophagist, this was the second signing of a German band with Relapse Records.
In February 2009 the second album Cosmogenesis was finally released via Relapse Records ; it includes guest appearances by Ron Jarzombek ( Watchtower , Spastic Ink ) and Tymon Kruidenier ( Cynic ). In addition to the normal CD version, it was also released as a vinyl LP . For this album V. Santura was again active as a producer, he also contributed vocal tracks on four tracks. The songwriting for the album began after the release of Retribution and a large part of the pieces were written between 2004 and 2007. In total, the band spent about three months in the studio for the recordings, after initial preparations during the negotiations with Relapse Records walked.
A music video for the song Anticosmic Overload was released shortly after the album was released. This was also an early term paper by Kummerer, who is studying media technology with a focus on audio / video technology.
The Cosmogenesis World Tour started in April 2009 in the USA / Canada as support for the band Cannibal Corpse . With well over 160 concerts in the USA, Europe and Japan, Obscura ended their world tour with a final appearance in Mexico after more than twelve months of continuous touring.
In February 2010 the second re-release of the debut Retribution was released via Relapse Records, remastered and with two new cover songs (one song each by Suffocation and Morbid Angel ) as a bonus. A Japan tour together with Nile and Triptykon followed in the summer of 2010. On this Thesseling was represented by Steve DiGiorgio due to scheduling problems . A special Japanese edition of Retribution contains two more cover songs (one song each by Behemoth and Vader ). In June 2010, the recording of the successor to Cosmogenesis finally began .
The third studio album Omnivium was released on April 1, 2011 in Germany and the Benelux countries , in the rest of Europe on April 4; in the USA it was released on March 29th. The track Seaptuagint and an album teaser with the track Vortex Omnivium had already been released in advance . Since March 23, the album can also be heard completely as a stream on Myspace . Following the album release, there will be a European tour with Hate Eternal and Beneath the Massacre , and a North American tour is also planned. Like the previous albums, Omnivium was recorded at Woodshed Studios by V. Santura. Overall, the band was in the studio for almost 5 months. The album includes guest appearances by Tommy Talamanca ( Sadist ) and Morean (Dark Fortress).
In September 2011, the band introduced Linus Klausenitzer ( Noneuclid , Fall of Serenity ) as their new bass player in a video message , who had previously supported Obscura at concerts and on the Omnivium European tour.
In July 2014 both guitarist Christian Münzner and drummer Hannes Grossmann left the band. Münzner stated the lengthy recovery of his focal dystonia, incompatible with strenuous and extensive tours, which had severely restricted him for years. He also stated that his heart was no longer fully in the band's music. Hannes Grossmann justified his departure with differences between him and Steffen Kummerer regarding the musical conception of the new album, which were starting to get too big. Both outgoing musicians emphasized that there was no bad blood between them and the band.
In April 2020 Obscura announced on their website that guitarist Rafael Trujillo, bassist Linus Klausenitzer and drummer Sebastian Lanser would leave the band due to musical differences and form their own band called Obsidious. In the same breath, Krummerer announced the upcoming production of the sixth album, which would also be the first under the new label Nuclear Blast . A week later Obscura announced the return of bassist Jeroen Paul Thesseling. In May, a new drummer joined David Diepold and a little later Münzner's return as a guitarist was confirmed.
style
music
Obscura plays Technical Death Metal with very varied song structures. So there are always tempo changes, acoustic interludes or vocal passages alienated with a vocoder . Mainly because of the latter, the band is often compared to Cynic ; A stylistic closeness to atheist and death is occasionally attested. These bands were originally Obscura's main technical influences; In terms of harmony , the band was mainly influenced by Emperor , Dissection and Dream Theater .
Today, music increasingly contains characteristics from styles outside of metal, such as fusion , progressive rock , classical or even flamenco . In various reviews it was stated and also confirmed by the band that Obscura focuses on the actual song over the technology:
“We should just focus on the song, not what the musicians play. The technical element is part of it, but it is not what should be remembered. "
The debut album Retribution is less technically and musically inspired by classic death metal than its successors . The tendency towards philosophical texts can, however, already be found here (“Hymn To A Nocturnal Visitor”).
On Cosmogenesis , on the other hand, the songwriting is much more complex and progressive in places , but the songs are understandable and coherently structured. The album was received extremely positively in the scene and achieved top marks in many places. Every now and then there are influences from other musical styles; For example, Thesseling's bass playing is partly inspired by this music ("Incarnated") through his participation in various Latin music groups, or there are classical passages (such as the baroque interlude in "Universe Momentum", see below). “Celestial Spheres” has similarities to typical Cynic songs, but is actually influenced by a piano piece by Aziza Mustafa Zadeh .
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Thesseling had a relatively free hand in working out his bass tracks, but the basic ideas were given and noted down by the band. When mixing the album, his fretless bass was particularly emphasized by raising some frequency bands, so that it stands out clearly in the songs. Occasionally this strong emphasis was perceived negatively, because it made the bass, for example, "too penetrating [...] and thus simply too intrusive". Sorrower:
“In the metal area, the bass is generally in the background and is only supposed to create a boost in the mix, which we simply don't handle in the same way. [...] All instruments on the record have equal rights, [that] the bass has something to say in metal is just a little strange for some listeners. "
The third album, Omnivium , tends to be a bit more complex. According to their own statement, the band has partly broken away from the premise of being able to perform all songs live without much effort. For example, the track “Velocity”, which is heavily influenced by Emperor , has a total of six guitar tracks and several vocal levels that cannot be easily reduced. The drum recordings for Omnivium largely dispensed with modern techniques such as triggers ; only the bass drum is overlaid with a slight trigger signal during fast passages.
The pieces are worked out jointly by Kummerer, Grossmann and Münzner. While Kummerer is also responsible for the basic concept and the lyrics, all members work out the tracks for their respective instruments themselves. Guitar Pro is used in songwriting to make it easy to share ideas. This is especially important because Thesseling does not regularly attend rehearsals because he lives in the Netherlands. The songs are prepared in great detail before the band goes into the studio for the final recordings for an album. Grossmann therefore compared the way the band worked in the preparations for Omnivium with that of classical composers . Details are only changed in the recordings in a few cases.
Producer V. Santura has also made a huge impact on the music. According to Münzner, the individual pieces are already finished when the band goes into the studio, but V. Santura helps with the implementation and occasionally brings in his own ideas. Münzner therefore described him as "almost something like our fifth band member".
Texts
The lyrics deal with philosophical issues in general. According to Kummerer, this is what the demanding music requires:
“I don't play Tech Death and then sing about drinking beer with two chicks in a Ford Mustang . [...]
We had a lot of discussions within the band, according to the motto: If we write such complicated music, the lyrics have to be a bit simpler. I would have my problems with that. "
"In the end, Steffen [Kummerer] convinced us with the argument that complex, profound music, in which you think about every little detail, also requires an equally profound text concept in order to make the picture coherent."
The albums Cosmogenesis and Omnivium belong to a thematic concept that extends over a total of four albums. The former dealt on a philosophical level with cosmogenesis according to Pierre Teilhard de Chardin , and thus also with the origin of the universe . The lyrics therefore contain references to scientifically sound concepts such as the Big Bang , but also to purely philosophical ideas such as the noosphere . The individual songs are thematically linked, but it is not a concept album .
Omnivium, on the other hand, has evolution as its fundamental theme , which is also understood here in the metaphorical sense as further development. According to Kummerer, the inspiration for this album was the work Clara - On the connection between nature and the spirit world by the German philosopher Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling . Here, too, there are references to findings in biology, as well as to theological-philosophical concepts such as the Septuagint . The title of the album also relates to this last aspect:
"For me, 'Omnivium' is a vortex , a black hole that sucks in and destroys everything that is living and existent in order to create something new elsewhere."
Artwork
According to Kummerer, since Cosmogenesis the band has also attached great importance to artwork , photographs and color concepts that go with the music . This can also be seen in the heavily changed cover of the re-release of Retribution compared to the original version. Each album is also assigned a specific color that serves as the basis for the artwork: Retribution was red, Cosmogenesis blue, Omnivium green, Akroasis yellow. According to Kummerer, all merchandise ideas must first be approved by the band members before they can be implemented by the label. The artwork and layout are developed by Kummerer in the position of art director together with the artist Orion Landau .
Discography
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Demos
- 2003: illegal imitation (in-house production)
Studio albums
- 2004: Retribution (in-house production)
- 2006: Re-release via VOTS Records
- 2010: Re-release via Relapse Records , remastered and with two new bonus tracks
- 2009: Cosmogenesis (Relapse Records)
- 2011: Omnivium (Relapse Records)
- 2016: Akroasis (Relapse Records)
- 2018: Diluvium (Relapse Records)
Compilations
- 2012: Illegimitation (VOTS Records)
Music videos
- 2009: Anticosmic Overload
- 2015: Akroasis
- 2016: Ten Sepiroth
- 2018: Diluvium
- 2018: Mortification of the Vulgar Sun
- 2019: Emergent Evolution
Books
- 2010: Cosmogenesis - Official Tablature Book
- 2012: Omnivium - Official Tablature Book
- 2015: Guitar Anthology - Official Tablature Book
- 2016: Akroasis - Official Guitar Tablature Book
- 2016: Akroasis - Official Bass Tablature Book
- 2018: Diluvium - Official Guitar Tablature Book
- 2018: Diluvium - Official Bass Tablature Book
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d metal-district.de: Interview with Steffen Kummerer ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j metalnews.de: Interview with Steffen Kummerer , March 2009
- ↑ a b c blowthescene.com: Interview with Steffen Kummerer , March 18, 2011 (English)
- ↑ a b blistering.com: Interview with Steffen Kummerer ( memento of the original from October 18, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English)
- ↑ a b c d e f myrevelations.de: Interview with Steffen Kummerer , 2009
- ↑ metal.de: CD Review: Retribution , January 2007
- ↑ a b c d e f stormbringer.at: Interview with Steffen Kummerer , April 2009
- ↑ a b c d metal.de: Interview with Steffen Kummerer , February 2009
- ↑ a b c metalunderground.com: Interview with Christian Münzner , December 2008 (English)
- ↑ a b c d vampster.de: Interview with Steffen Kummerer , April 2009
- ↑ a b CD booklet from Cosmogenesis
- ↑ a b vampster.de: Interview with Steffen Kummerer , June 2010
- ↑ a b c CD booklet from Omnivium
- ↑ myspace.com: Obscura blog: Omnivium contest! (English, March 2, 2011)
- ↑ myspace.com: Obscura blog: Omnivium Available Now in North America ... (English, March 30, 2011)
- ↑ myspace.com: Obscura blog: Omnivium Streaming Online Now! (English, March 23, 2011)
- ↑ myspace.com: Obscura blog: Brand New Track From 'Omnivium' Debuts! (English, January 19, 2011)
- ↑ myspace.com: Obscura blog: New Track Debut and European Tour Dates Announced! (English, February 24, 2011)
- ↑ a b c chroniclesofchaos.com: Interview with Hannes Grossmann , March 2011 (English)
- ↑ a b c d e f g metal.de: Interview with Steffen Kummerer , March 2011
- ↑ facebook.com/RealmOfObscura: Statements by Christian Münzner and Hannes Grossmann , July 2014
- ↑ OBSCURA | Announce lineup change. In: Obscura. April 22, 2020, accessed June 5, 2020 (American English).
- ↑ Fretless bassist Jeroen Paul Thesseling rejoins OBSCURA. In: Obscura. April 29, 2020, accessed June 5, 2020 (American English).
- ↑ Drummer DAVID DIEPOLD joins OBSCURA. In: Obscura. May 13, 2020, accessed June 5, 2020 (American English).
- ↑ OBSCURA completes new line-up with rejoining guitarist CHRISTIAN MÜNZNER. In: Obscura. May 27, 2020, accessed June 5, 2020 (American English).
- ↑ a b c metal.de: CD review: Cosmogenesis , February 2009
- ↑ a b metalnews.de: CD review: Cosmogenesis ( Memento of the original from December 28, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , February 2009
- ↑ a b c musikreviews.de: CD review: Cosmogenesis , April 2009
- ↑ musikreviews.de: CD-Review: Retribution (re-release), February 2010
- ↑ metalnews.de: CD-Review: Retribution (re-release), March 2010 ( Memento of the original from March 20, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ metalnews.de: Interview with Steffen Kummerer ( Memento of the original from October 5, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , March 2009
- ↑ rockhard.de: CD review: Cosmogenesis in Rock Hard No. 236, issue 12/2006
- ↑ vampster.de: CD review: Cosmogenesis , February 2009
- ↑ metal-hammer.de: CD review: Cosmogenesis ( Memento of the original from April 14, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. in Metal Hammer , issue 02/2009
- ↑ rockhard.de: CD review: Cosmogenesis in Rock Hard No. 262, edition 02/2009
- ↑ youtube.com: In the Studio with Obscura - Universe Momentum (English; Münzner and Thesseling explain the structure of the song)
- ↑ a b c homenucleonics.wordpress.com: Interview with Hannes Grossmann , March 2011 (English)
- ↑ chroniclesofchaos.com: CD-Review: Cosmogenesis , August 2009 (English)
- ↑ a b Rock Hard No. 288, May 2011 edition. First learn to play! , P. 50.
- ↑ a b c d Legacy No. 71, Edition 02/2011. The big picture , p. 178f.
- ↑ Chart sources: Germany - Switzerland
