Obsidian Kingdom
A Year with No Summer
Season of Mist
Release Date: 11 March 2016
Review by Matt Bolton
The Spaniards explain their new album best as, “a spiked cocktail of city spleen, conspiranoia and personal trauma; blue like the stagnant water in the pool of a marooned holiday resort and heavy like the silence after the next radiant apocalypse.”
The title track, A Year with No Summer, shows the band has matured since debut album Mantiis, which came out 4 years prior. Obsidian Kingdom proves once again they are a tight group of musicians playing some beautifully crafted progressive music. The bass playing of Om Rex Orale has a heavy groove to it that carries the seven songs along nicely.
Kristoffer ‘Garm’ Rygg of Ulver lends his hand on the ambient track, 10th of April, which is a breath of fresh air. Ojete Mordaza II provides a steady beat on the drums on therocking track, Darkness. Om’s bass stands out yet again and the vocals and guitar playing are the perfect fit. This song really sets the tone for the album as the band let loose with a spacey jam that leads to my favourite track, The Kadinsky Group. That familiar voice is none other than that of Attila Csihar of Mayhem fame. Things get very eerie and experimental on this track. Two worlds collide when the somewhat clean vocals of Obsidian Kingdom meet with the evil voice of Attila. The stomping guitar riff will get your head bouncing off your shoulders and the guitar solo will help soak the blood into your carpet.
Black Swan, reminds me of Phil Collins on first listen, showing the amazing clean vocals on display. The song gets progressive and interesting, with the use of keys and electronics setting an inspiring landscape. It is album closer that is another highlight for me. Away/Absent, is probably the heaviest song on the album, and the band has definitely saved the best for last. The album ends abruptly and it’s time to hit repeat! Enjoy!
