EP REVIEW: Oberon – Fucked Up

FUCKED UP have never walked a beaten path in their lives. Ostensibly a hardcore outfit, they’ve spent the last two decades gloriously forging their own idiosyncratic trail, where hardcore meets psychedelia, pop, indie and even rock opera. Suffice to say, FUCKED UP are a band who have never really cared for colouring within the lines. And yet somehow, their latest EP, Oberon, feels so far beyond the lines that FUCKED UP have moved on to another page altogether. Again.

So, let’s turn the page with them. If Dose Your Dreams‘ twisted hardcore in to something more trippy and arguably mellow, then Oberon aggressively careens in the exact opposite direction. The generously-filled EP is stacked with muddy, doom-laden layers, each heavier than the last. Oberon has far more in common with the atmospheric sludge of VILE CREATURE than it does anything resembling hardcore.

In the space of its first minute, the opening title track strafes between discordant, horned riffs and oddly folkish plucked basslines before Damian Abraham begins to unleash his best bog-ridden screams. The track slowly skulks along, constantly morphing throughout. At one moment, Oberon teeters on the melodic as Abraham flirts with a vocal hook; at another, the song shifts to classical arpeggios delivered via a seemingly broken synth and domineeringly fuzzy guitars. The guttural barks and the atmospheric buzzing of the strings keep things feeling cohesive throughout, its constant surprises preventing Oberon from dragging in its eight minutes. Follow-up cut Strix sees the band abandon the crawling tempo in favour of a malevolent stomp. Swirlingly psychedelic, swampy riffs aggressively waltz against a backdrop of drawled, cannon-fired drums providing the groove. It’s arguably the most “traditional” FUCKED UP moment on the release, but even that’s a stretch. Strix teems with fuzzy metal riffs and descending basslines so thick that they could crush buildings – a far cry from the surprisingly bright and clear guitar lines of earlier FUCKED UP sonics.

Mashhit continues to revel in metallic dirgery, this time seeing the slinking, coiling riffs accompanied by the doom and gloom of low sawtooth synths. It’s certainly an evocatively ominous track, its low guitars swaying threateningly as if trees on the verge of collapse, while the relentless pulsating of the industrial synths provides the brewing storm. Musically, it’s as if FUCKED UP took the unyielding death march of PALLBEARER and squeezed it through a PERTUBATOR-tinged transistor, as fuzz and cybernetic hells collide satisfyingly in a intimidating groove. Even the short ending instrumental The Aquarium gives listeners little reprieve. With limited percussion, dirt-ridden guitars offer one friction-filled chord as layers of nightmarish horns spiralise on top. With occasional brief interjections of BLACK SABBATH-worthy melodies, The Aquarium would not be out of place as background music in a slow-burn horror film. It eventually culminates in some disarmingly bright and airy major chord synths – but the elated ending notes do little to dispel the uneasiness of the preceding 20 minutes.

As with everything they do, FUCKED UP have embraced their experiment in the world of doom metal with both arms, dragging Oberon kicking and screaming into being. The FUCKED UP DNA is ever-present, underpinning the deafening distortions, and of course Abraham’s gruff tones are recognisably familiar. While extremely well-executed, the trial of Oberon is slightly less exciting than some of the weird and wonderful journeys FUCKED UP have previously been on – but that doesn’t make it any less worthwhile an adventure. So few bands are able to take such a chameleon-like approach to music, successfully trying on new genres like different outfits, while somehow maintaining their identity and creative integrity. FUCKED UP remain completely unafraid and unfazed by the ideas of genre boundaries or alienating listeners, boldly forging their way forward however they see fit. Oberon is yet another tome in the case for the world being a better place with FUCKED UP around.

Rating: 7/10

Oberon is set for release on October 7th via Tankcrimes.

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