Death metal has always been an unpredictable animal, taking the most liberty in freefully incorporating styles and musical aesthetics from outlandish sources. As such, the progressive term that has become a popular prefix in death metal has not necessarily been synonymous with the cutting edge, but it’s hybridity and fusion of opposing styles. Death metal that takes a progressive approach has in and of itself become a dated transition. Obscura’s sophomore release Cosmogenesis unabashedly expresses this dynamic in spades, by utilizing sinuous fusion bass work (courtesy of Pestilence legend Jeroen Thesseling) technically aligned neo classical guitar arrangements, and driving thrash percussion. The vocals retain the predicted Gothenburg rasp, and punctuate with a distinct flair for the dramatic. As having described the tenets of what is a competently written record, The elephant in the room remains this band’s relation to another of similar ilk – Necrophagist. The press releases have made it a priority to highlight drummer Hannes Grossman and guitarist Christian Muenzner‘s involvement on this record. Being a member of the Necrophagist alumnus attaches certain technical qualities to the skill resume, but in many ways, this entire record seems to rely on the same tricks pulled off by Onset Of Putrefication a decade ago.
The members retain a distinct style, but only through adding the presence of certain melodies that are cheap, irrelevant, and unevolving. It is a misstep to take the strong clinic songwriting approach of Necrophagist and attempt to enliven the formula with a greater degree of musical influence. Although Muenzner’s compositional contribution to Necrophagist’s Epitaph was strictly his (mindbending) soloing and approximately a minute and a half of “Symbiotic In Theory”, his overall songcraft on Cosmogenesis is without a doubt, impeccable. “Universe Momentum” and “Cosmogenesis” are fully realized symphonies that have the undeniable Muenzner signature. Muenzner is a serious and immensely talented musician, technically and as an arranger. His writing on Epitaph always felt more versatile and inspired than Muhammed Suicmez’s. As such, this adds another inconsistency to the record; his baroque sophistication is so recognizable that it sticks out like a sore thumb amongst the subpar written passages from the other songwriters. Because of this, the album lacks a creative punch despite being seemingly constructed to have one.
Additionally, this album is not specifically technical in its design. The soloing is flawless (if slightly more tame than what is to be found on Epitaph) with smooth legato and cleanly produced harmonized riffs, and the bass has an unrestrained personality, yet this all flows on top of predictable and even time changes. There are no truly off kilter polyrhythms or tempo changes that attempt to expand the structural palette of this album. The bottom line is that the truly progressive acts in death metal such as Spawn Of Possession and Anata have homogenized the dynamic between melodic progression and aggressive writing, whereas Cosmogenesis feels like a 90′s melodic death metal album with a 2009 production gloss; once again, it is stylish, but irrelevant.
(6.5/10)
Note: After this writing, it had been announced that Christian Muenzner has become lead guitarist for the aforementioned Spawn Of Possession. It will be fascinating to have Muenzner play and write to his full potential with crazed genius Jonas Bryssling behind the monitor.
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