Independent Release
Review by Tony Cannella
From Austria comes the symphonic Power/Gothic metal band Obsidia. Their debut EP is titled “Back to Darkness” and the band mix some grunt style male vocals combined with the clear vocal style of female singer Lucrezia. Heavy guitar riffs and steady musicianship are also included on “Back to Darkness”. “Back to Darkness” has a total playing time of about 22-minutes and includes only 5-songs. All of the songs are in the 4-5 minute range, so there is nothing too epic included here but the band do a great job in creating some truly atmospheric music, complete with doomy guitar riffs and the duel vocals of Lucrezia and Sir Iwain. The opening track “Vaticana” is really a powerful way to begin things. This song is a perfect example of the way that the two vocal styles mesh together and the choir-like background vocals make this one of my favorites. Lucrezia proves that she has some range and depth in her vocal style. Next is “Haunted Harmony” which is another favorite. The tempo is more in the mid-range area (that’s the style that prevails throughout the majority of the EP) but once again you have the two vocal styles that work well together and the style of the song is more melodic and it has a definite moody, haunting quality to it. “Back To Darkness” is completed by “Bleed for Me” (another cool mid-tempo track), “Parthenope” (Lucrezia really hits some high notes on this one) and the orchestral “Life of Shadows” wrap things up nicely. The two vocal styles are split pretty evenly throughout this EP. Overall “Back to Darkness” is a cool release which I found myself enjoying more and more with each listen. A job well done by this fine up-and-coming Austrian band.
Rating – 75/100
Tracklist
- Vaticana
- Haunted Harmony
- Bleed For Me
- Parthenope
- Life Of Shadows
Line Up
- Lucrezia – Vocals
- Sir Iwain – Guitar & Vocals
- Tajy – Keyboards
- Imorh – Bass
- Drake – Drums
Links