Obscene Eulogy – A Portal Into Fire
You can usually discern North American black metal from the rest of the world on the initial listen to a CD. Perhaps this is an unfair generalization with lots of room for disagreement, but the bands in this territory tend to be less atmospheric with borderline death metal guitar work which focus’ on technical riffing rather than longer musical phrases and melody. Such an attack can be well done, but largely comes off as dry and devoid of emotion. This is where I’m at with Canada’s Obscene Eulogy. Perhaps the production on “A Portal into Fire” and the bands use of a drum machine (though expertly programmed) gives this release too crisp of a sound. Mixing this point with the shrill/dimensionless screams of the vocalist, the lack of variation and feeling greatly detracts from the impact of this 7 tracker. The very minor synth work on here strikes me as an afterthought since the occasional spooky breath creeps in with little interest or merit in terms of the overall track. Imagine a lesser complex Morbid Angel mixed with crunchy thrash rhythms, and you have the talented, though unspectacular glimpse into the world of Obscene Eulogy. – Marty
BAPHOMET RECORDS
Worm Gear 