Showing category "resources" (Show all posts)

Review from Friedhof Magazine

Posted by Nick Skog on Tuesday, August 1, 2017, In : Spanish 
From: Friedhof Magazine
Published: July 27, 2017

“Slaves of the Vast Machine”, la canción, comienza como un tsunami sonoro un “Slaves of the Vast Machine”, el disco, en lo que supone una única pieza de descarnado Black Metal en la onda de los primeros lanzamientos de Dark Funeral, Burzum o Mayhem, donde se juega con varios riffs para ir manteniéndonos atrapados durante sus tres cuartos de hora.

¿Tres cuartos de hora? Eso es. ¿Un solo tema? Has leído bien. ¿Y te lo has...

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Review from Metal-Temple

Posted by Nick Skog on Saturday, July 15, 2017, In : English 
From: Metal - Temple
Published: July 14, 2017 

There are times when a band’s musical work is really amazing, but the format they use to express their musicality is truly a great and hard trial for a deeper understanding. One of those strange things that can astonish the fans is the strategy inherited by many Metal genres from Progressive Rock from the 70s: the ability to fill one entire album with only one song. Are you astonished with this? So let the Swedish duet OBITUS lead yo...

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Review from Black Metal Spirit

Posted by Nick Skog on Saturday, July 8, 2017, In : Spanish 
From: Black Metal Spirit
Published: July 6, 2017

Seguramente estamos ante uno de los lanzamientos del año en el cual nos encontramos y que el poso que deja un álbum como este se extiende en el tiempo. Lejos de modas y tendencias en los que cuales se les ha venido encasillando, si post-black por un lado o black progresivo por otro, lo que logran traernos aquí es un tema que es fiel a la tradición sueca del black metal, si cabe con ciertas influencias industriales que asoman al f...

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Review from Soil Chroniques

Posted by Nick Skog on Saturday, June 24, 2017, In : French 
From: Soil Chroniques
Published: June 1, 2017

Deux types qui se répartissent les tâches des instruments et de la voix, cela me rappelle un autre duo : Anaal Nathrakh. La comparaison va s’arrêter là pour Obitus, leur « Slaves of the vast Machine » étant bien plus intéressant que les dernières sorties des Anglais.
Un seul titre, éponyme, de quarante-cinq minutes, c’est ambitieux. Mais dans un exercice tel que celui-là, l’ambition n’est pas le problème, ni même la ...

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Review from ZWareMetalen

Posted by Nick Skog on Friday, June 2, 2017, In : Dutch 
From: ZWareMetalen
Published: June 2, 2017

Oké, tijd om nog eens een plaatje te reviewen die mijn jaarlijst absoluut zal halen. Samen met het Zweedse Waning raad ik sinds jaar en dag dit Obitus aan. Obitus maakt industriële black metal – die volgens mij (en anderen) ergens tussen Aborym en Anaal Nathrakh geplaatst moest worden – en doet dat met zeer veel verve. Deze nieuwe plaat bestaat uit één enkel nummer, dat dik drie kwartier lang duurt.

Ook Slaves of the Vast Machine is...

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Review from Aristocrazia Webzine

Posted by Nick Skog on Monday, May 15, 2017, In : English 
From: Aristocrazia Webzine
Published: May 14, 2017

*Italian version of review can be found here

Another challenge came, another challenge accepted. After going through sleepless nights to tell you about Arkhaeon's "Beyond", here I am, dealing with another single track release. This record comes from the mind of the Swedish black metal band Obitus, a duo composed of Anders Ahlbäck (all instruments) and Johan Huldtgren (vocals), who were helped for the occasion by Fredrik H...

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Review from Heathen Harvest

Posted by Nick Skog on Friday, May 12, 2017, In : English 
From: Heathen Harvest
Published: May 3, 2017

Special respect is due to bands who manage to strike a firm balance of the traditional and adventurous sides of black metal. Although recent years have seen a mutual understanding and appreciation between these two ‘schools’, it is less rare to hear a band that goes balls-out with avant-garde technique than to hear one who dares tempt extremity via more restrained means. With Slaves of the Vast Machine, I’m reminded of the straight...

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Review from Lords of Metal

Posted by Nick Skog on Tuesday, May 2, 2017, In : English 
From: Lords of Metal
Published: May 1, 2017

The Swedes of Obitus return with their second album full of hatred and spite. ‘Slaves Of The Vast Machine’ is a prime example of industrial black metal done right. Containing only one massive 45 minute song, Obitus hasn’t made it easy for themselves. Luckily, Obitus know a thing or two about song-writing. ‘Slaves Of The Vast Machine’ is a violent journey through hatred, nihilism, totalitarian regimes and dystopian societies. Rel...

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Review from Noizz Webzine

Posted by Nick Skog on Thursday, April 13, 2017, In : Spanish 
From: Noizz Webzine
Published: April 13, 2017

La historia de la banda que nos ocupa se remonta al año 2000, cuando un par de suecos unen sus fuerzas para crear OBITUS, sacando al poco tiempo una primera demo y un split compartido con KULT OV AZAZEL, HUMANICIDE y THY LORD, dos precedentes de lo que sería el primer larga duración del grupo “Sonnilon”, que no llegó a publicarse oficialmente. Con el paso de los años el grupo fue evolucionando, y también su sonido, por lo que ...

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Review from Nightfall in Metal Earth

Posted by Nick Skog on Wednesday, April 12, 2017, In : French 
From: Nightfall in Metal Earth
Published: April 12, 2017

Le concept d'album à un morceau commence vraiment à sentir le roussi. Il est si vétuste et ennuyant que je trouve anecdotique et emmerdant que les artistes songent même à envisager la possibilité d'en réaliser un. Pourquoi ? Parce que c'est épuisant et que rares sont les groupes comme MOONSORROW, et plus récemment INSOMNIUM, qui ont réussi l'exercice avec brio en divisant clairement leur pavé en tranches digestes. ...

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Review from Ave Noctum

Posted by Nick Skog on Wednesday, April 12, 2017, In : English 
From: Ave Noctum Webzine
Published: April 12, 2017

In formative years all we heard was radio gaga, short songs designed for unchallenging airplay. Of course there was classical music and opera which lasted for several centuries but that was for fossils not for young kids with whole lives ahead of them. Naturally as years piled up exposure to other types of music led to an increase in compositional length, we had prog rock and the dinosaurs that played that could really plod on. Doo...

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Review from Infernal Masquerade

Posted by Nick Skog on Saturday, April 8, 2017, In : English 

From: Infernal Masquerade
Published: April 3, 2017 
As a true testament of intensity and brutality, today we Obitus’s latest full-length “Slaves of the Vast Machine”. Comprised of one 45-minute behemoth of a track, this release showcases a master class in crafting intricate Black Metal music that is both engaging and ravaging. While most people would expect this piece to be filled with interludes and atmospheric passages, we are treated to quite the opposite as it is intense ...

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Review from Echoes and Dust

Posted by Nick Skog on Saturday, March 18, 2017, In : English 
From: Echoes and Dust
Published: March 18, 2017

Obitus have stared down the barrel of dystopian torment for years, feeding omens of oppression to the already oppressed masses. The Swedish post-black metal act revel in the mire of a ruined nation as much as they wallow and have an uncanny way of painting a bleak picture of totalitarian hopelessness… boot plus face plus forever comes to mind. If the future looks like this then get your stomping shoes on… I’m in!

Cold and calcula...

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Review from Wonderbox Metal

Posted by Nick Skog on Thursday, March 9, 2017, In : English 
From: Wonderbox music
Published: March 6, 2017 

Obitus are a Swedish black metal band and this is their second album.

Playing harsh black metal, Slaves of the Vast Machine consists of one long 45 minute track.

The band’s music is made up of progressive, dissonant and post-black metal, resulting in music that’s chaotic, relentless and brimming with icy hatred. This is the sound of Slaves of the Vast Machine.

There’s an apocalyptic intensity to this, one that would be hard to sust...

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Review from Transcending Obscurity Webzine

Posted by Nick Skog on Wednesday, March 1, 2017, In : English 
From: Transcending Obscurity Webzine
Published: February 26, 2017

Obitus has made it pretty clear what you can expect from their latest album, ‘Slaves of the Vast Machine’: “If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face — forever.” Capturing an outlook as dour as that and putting it to music may seem like a tall order, but that’s just what Obitus achieves on this 2017 release from Hypnotic Dirge Records.

You’ll find no beauty here. There ...

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Review from The Metal Observer

Posted by Nick Skog on Wednesday, March 1, 2017, In : English 
From: The Metal Observer
Published: February 25, 2017

Like the indoctrinating repetition of hypnopaedia or the self-fulfilling prophecies of unchecked Nietzschean philosophy, black metal can, in its own distinct way, hammer home its ideologies through sheer force. The beauty behind such a method is simple, really, and can be conveyed any number of ways but most often is distilled into succinct yet powerful memes: “The object of power is power,” “God is dead,” or “A love o...

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Review from Gorger's Metal

Posted by Nick Skog on Wednesday, March 1, 2017, In : English 
From: Gorger's Metal
Published: February 23, 2017

Obitus is a duo from Gothenburg, and Slaves of the Vast Machine is their second full length album.
Anders and Johan started the band in 2000, but after a demo and contributions to a split, other projects took up most of their time. Material intended for a debut was largely shelved or downright discarded as the band felt they had evolved and grown away from it. Three songs intended for the never completed album with the working title ...

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Review from Truemetal.it

Posted by Nick Skog on Wednesday, February 22, 2017, In : Italian 
From: True Metal.it
Published: February 21, 2017

Gli Obitus sono un duo svedese attivo dall’ormai lontano 2000 e suonante un black metal piuttosto incazzato. Ci occupiamo oggi del loro secondo, ottimo album che porta il nome di Slaves Of The Vast Machine. La prima cosa di cui parlare è la particolare scelta di offrire il platter sotto forma di un’unica traccia, e gli svedesi in questa direzione sono recidivi; potrebbe quindi risultare poco “vendibile” ma, in tempi frenetic...

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Review from Metalopsy

Posted by Nick Skog on Friday, February 17, 2017, In : English 
From: Metalopsy
Published: February 16, 2017
Original Link

Everyone with the slightest interest in metal (should) know about the Edge Of Sanity epos Crimson. Released in 1995, it’s a 40+ minutes long single death metal song that goes through bouts of fast riffing and groovy drumming, interwoven with harmonic slow passages with clean singing. It’s an amazingly coherent mix of moods that drives the dystopian backstory forward. The sequel, Crimson II, continues the story, but does so in a much...

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Review from Bleeding 4 Metal

Posted by Nick Skog on Friday, February 17, 2017, In : German 
From: Bleeding 4 Metal
Published:
February 16 2017
Original Link

Schaut man sich die Outputs von OBITUS an, gibt es nur ein Wort für die Band und deren Entwicklung: beeindruckend. Im Jahr 2000 setzten die Schweden mit dem Drei-Track-Demo "Coup De Grâce" und dem darauf zelebrierten brutalen, kalten Lo-Fi-Rasanz-Black-Metall ein mehr als markantes Zeichen. Es folgte 2001 die Split "Gather Against Humanity" mit KULT OF AZAZEL, HUMANICIDE und THY LORD, die EP "Stratagema" (2006) und im Jahr 2009 s...

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Review from Nine Circles

Posted by Nick Skog on Thursday, February 16, 2017, In : English 
From: Nine Circles
Published: February 14, 2017

Cries of being part of the machine have been the fodder of rock and roll for decades. For Pink Floyd it was the conformity stamping music industry that prompted their 1975 classic “Welcome to the Machine.” Hell, even Sebastian Bach lamented “I gotta punch the clock that leads the blind / I’m just another gear in the assembly line-oh no” on Skid Row’s 1991 Slave to the Grind. We’ve all felt that wearing down of the rough ...

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Review (+ Album Premiere) from No Clean Singing

Posted by Nick Skog on Monday, February 13, 2017, In : English 
From: No Clean Singing
Published: February 13, 2017
Original Link

The Swedish black metal band Obitus have done something remarkable: They’ve made a 45-minute album consisting of a single song that’s on the attack relentlessly, and yet it’s a harrowing thrill-ride straight through to the end.

Now you can either skip straight to the end of this post and start listening to our stream premiere, or you can continue reading, but I wouldn’t recommend trying to do both at the same time — or tr...

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Review from Totally Biased

Posted by Nick Skog on Tuesday, February 7, 2017, In : English 
From: TotallyBiased.be
Published: February 3, 2017

Song previews always strike me as something very odd, since I’m no sure what their purpose is. But when I got a 5 minute preview of this, a 45 minute epic black metal song, now that seems to make sense. I was intrigued, wanted to know more. A few days later my review copy came in, and my God, I was not prepared.

First thing I have to say : this is not for the faint-hearted. It’s a full on assault on all senses, and it’s hard t...

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Review from Angry Metal Guy

Posted by Nick Skog on Monday, February 6, 2017, In : English 
From: Angry Metal Guy
Published: February 5, 2017

Post-black has often struck me as expressing a decadent sort of misery, one which is more malaise than malice, an effeminate whimpering against the dying of the light. It seems to cry out to the God it vehemently denies exists and beg for a purpose, painting a bleak sort of hopelessness; a musical version of an off-brand Sartre, if you will. Like Sartre’s Roquentin1, post-black bands create to find a purpose, but they end up stuck...

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Mini Review from Toilet Ov Hell

Posted by Nick Skog on Monday, February 6, 2017, In : English 
From: Toilet Ov Hell
Published: February 1, 2017
Original Link

*This is an article about Hypnotic Dirge Records.
Below is the section where the new Obitus album is discussed.
Click on "Original Link" above to read the full article

We’ve covered dark and foreboding misery, as well as powerful cathartic release. Now, it’s time for relentlessly oppressive hate and despair. Although the second full-length from Obitus is not out yet, the two short samples offer us a glimpse at the final product. Sla...


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Review from Franconia Metallum

Posted by Nick Skog on Monday, January 30, 2017, In : German 
From: Franconia Metallum
Published: January 29, 2017

Allein schon der Opener ist Black Metal par exellance. Brachial, melodiös, eingängig, dunkel, bedrohlich, sprich ein absoluter Hammer. Besonders Johan Huldtgren intensive Kreischvocals und das atmosphärisch unheimlich dichte Riffing von Anders Ahlbäck beschwören hier den ein oder anderen Freuden- bzw. Höllentanz herauf.  OBITUS verbinden sie geschickt die tragenden Elemente zu einem gut funktionierenden Ganzen. Majestätisc...

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No Clean Singing reviews 5 minute sample of "Slaves..."

Posted by Nick Skog on Sunday, January 8, 2017, In : English 
From: No Clean Singing
Published:
January 8, 2017
Original Link

[Part of a "Shades of Black" series] 

The Swedish duo Obitus (vocalist/lyricist Johan Huldtgren and multi-instrumentalist/composer Anders Ahlbäck) are not prolific, but when they do release new music, it’s worth close attention. Their debut album March of The Drones (reviewed here) was released in 2009, and all we’ve received from Obitus since then was the excellent single (“Panoticotopia”) they recorded for the Elemental Ni...

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Review from Occult Black Metal Zine

Posted by Nick Skog on Sunday, January 8, 2017, In : English 
From; Occult Black Metal Zine
Published:
January 4, 2017
Original Link

Obitus  are  a  band  from  Sweden  that  plays  a  very  misanthropic  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2017  album  "Slaves  Of  The  Vast  Machine"  which  will  be  released  in  February  as  a  joint  effort  between  Hypnotic  Dirge  and  Black  Plague  Records.

  A  very  distorted  sound  starts  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  very  fast  and  raw  musical  direction  which  also ...

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 Released: February 16, 2017
500 Copies (250 through HDR)
Genre: Dystopian / Misanthropic
Black Metal

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