Today, GuitarWorld.com presents the exclusive premiere of Akróasis, the new studio album by German progressive death band Obscura. The album will be released February 5 via German progressive death metal, but you can enjoy an early listen below.
Founded in 2002 by guitarist/vocalist Steffen Kummerer, Obscura caused a stir when they (out of nowhere) toured as support of Suffocation on the band's 2006 European tour and independently released their debut album, Retribution, that same year. From the start, the band (named after Gorguts' inimitable 1993 full-length) demonstrated an uncanny ability for blending different forms of technical, cerebral metal into a coherent synthesis of death, thrash and black metal merged with progressive elements.
In 2009, after being acquired by Relapse Records, the band released Cosmogenesis, a marvel of technical and progressive metal that firmly established Obscura as one of modern extreme metal’s leading lights. In addition to cracking the U.S. charts, the release of Cosmogenesis saw Obscura embark on their first worldwide tour, which included visits to North America, Europe and Japan. Cosmogenesis was followed in 2011 by Omnivium, which was lauded by Decibel,
Now, five years later, the progressive metal masters are poised to return with their strongest and most dynamic release to date. Akróasis (Greek for "hearing" or "listening") draws on all the elements of Obscura's signature sound and combines those qualities into a cohesive and mind-blowing whole. Produced by the band and V. Santura (Triptykon, Pestilence), Akróasis features eight songs diverse enough to serve as a near-comprehensive introduction to all of extreme metal.
Obscura is Steffen Kummerer (vocals, guitars), Rafael Trujillo (guitars), Linus Klausenitzer (bass) and Sebastian Lanser (drums).
Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.
