Coupling the lamenting vocals and wilting strings of melodic metal with the heavy riffs and harsh vocals of extreme metal, Ne Obliviscaris are back to prove that they are the ones to beat in the extreme progressive sub-genre of the metal world.
Urn starts with a two-part song in “Libera”. Benjamin Baret and Matt Klavins‘ guitar skills pull you into “Libera (Part I) – Saturnine Spheres”, so when Dan Presland‘s drums kick in, you already can’t wait to hear where this album is going to take you. Dan takes the track to a different time signature which is something that is very rarely heard in metal music, but it goes to show that this Australian band know what they’re doing. As the time signature switches back, the strings kick in giving the track another vibe (again, one not often heard outside of the melodic metal scene) but one which listeners old and new can enjoy. “Libera (Part II) – Ascent of Burning Moths” takes you to another world and it gives Benjamin and Tim Charles the chance to wow everyone with their incredible musical talents. As well as this, it provides the world with the kind of track that you wouldn’t normally hear on an album hailing from the world of metal.
“Eyrie” is an incredible track, slowing the mood of the album down to a bit of a mid-album break but Tim’s vocals force you to listen to every word he’s singing without you even realising that you’re listening that intently. Having neat and heavy vocals on top of each other isn’t something that you think could work but this is one of the ways that Ne Obliviscaris prove that Tim and Xenoyr have a vocal partnership that nobody else can even come close to.
The title tracks (another 2-parter) really bring each of the member’s unique talents together, and you can really understand how this band works. As “Urn (Part II) – As Embers Dance In Our Eyes” builds, the scratching sound of the strings really bring everything together and round off a brilliant album which is something that only Ne Obliviscaris could pull off. Having Xenoyr and the heavy beat of the drums alongside smatterings of Tim’s vocal and string abilities, these are two incredible tracks to end a brilliant album.
Ne Obliviscaris are well worth a listen and, if you haven’t heard anything by them before, this album will open your eyes (and ears) to an incredible – and relatively unheard of – band and one that you won’t want to wait to see live. They really do live up to their name… you won’t forget them anytime soon!
