ALBUM REVIEW: Obsidian – Viscera

When former members of HEART OF A COWARD, ABHORRENT DECIMATION, MARTYR DEFILED, NERVECELL and SURFACES join forces you know you’re in for a wild ride. VISCERA burst onto the scene last year and shocked everyone with their no frills approach to technical deathcore. Today marks the release of their hotly anticipated debut full length entitled Obsidian which is available now via Unique Leader Records. Has this release lived up to the simmering hype?

Delilah gets Obsidian off to a crushing start as it serves you swathes of swift riffing intertwined with brutal growls and ferocious blast beats. Tinges of melody seep into the track as it progresses. Immersed In Ire steps it up a gear with rapid fire drumming and unrelenting guitar work. A powerful soaring chorus takes the edge off the chaos for a brief moment. A guttural onslaught courtesy of BOUND IN FEAR‘s Ben Mason leaves its mark. Lamb To The Slaughter does its best to disorient you with offbeat time signatures whilst immersing you in its demonic grasp whilst Carpe Noctem refuses to let the tempo fall below maximum velocity, slinging additional barrages of riffs at you without warning.

Affliction encapsulates you in a whirlwind of perplexing technicality leaving your brain trickling out of your ears. The vocal pieces seamlessly transition between melodic bursts and raw aggression. Hammer And Nails greets you with an intense brooding intro before continuing to sandblast your face clean off. The lyrical blast of “When the dust clears there’ll be nothing left for you to fuck with” is laced with pure venom. Lilith takes an unexpected turn with a delicate piano offering and a dramatic nature that tees up the next round of savagery in the form of title track Obsidian. The groove ridden tempo grabs you by the throat and hits you with a wave of punches before introducing an addictive ear worm of a chorus. An array of magnificent guitar sweeps exhibit the amount of technical proficiency OBSIDIAN have at their disposal. Silentium ensures this release continues assaulting your senses until the very end with expertly executed instrumentation. Fellow Unique Leader Records compatriots Ricky Lee Roper from OSIAH and Kyle Anderson (who sounds like he has transformed into a feral beast) from BRAND OF SACRIFICE offer up their signature vocal talents to up the ante one final time and leave an emphatic hole where your skull should have been.

VISCERA have displayed just how devastating a debut release can be with their own brand of seismic ruthlessness. Every track is jammed to the brim with impressive riffing and high tempo anarchy. Jamie Graham has proved once again that whatever project he touches seems to turn to gold as he adds a few strings to his bow which weren’t present in his HEART OF A COWARD material. This release will prove to be a great launching pad for their impending touring and festival performances as the summer draws closer.

Rating: 8/10

Obsidian is out now via Unique Leader Records.

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