Called to Rise

Recently, I reviewed Oblivion's latest effort, "The Path Towards...," and came to the unfortunate but inevitable conclusion that it was garbage, not worthwhile in any way, and that it pissed me off.  In that review I mentioned how flawless their debut album, "Called to Rise," was.  I have reviewed this album before, but I find my old writing style weak and ultimately boring.  Also, a lot of what I said was either biased or just wrong.  So I am re-reviewing this album.

Oblivion was founded by Nick Vasallo, "the father of deathcore."  "Called to Rise" has some deathcore influence, but it is not overpowering.  It's just there.  There's an occasional breakdown or deathcore-like riff, but it doesn't sound bad (in other words, it doesn't sound like Slaughter to Prevail).  Something that is more prevalent is the classical influence on this album.  This can be traced back to Vasallo again because he is also a modernist composer.  So this album is basically Necrophagist minus the stop-and-go style.  It's Necrophagist with a cleaner flow and a pinch of deathcore.

"Called to Rise" is perfect.  It starts with this cool intro track that recites some Bible verse from Ezekiel or something.  It sounds cool and it's a great intro.  Then it goes into "Black Veils of Justice," a killer beginner.  This is not my favorite song off of the album, nor is it one of my top five, but it's still a great start because of its aggressive and thick riffs.

Like I said in my first review of this album and my review of "The Path Towards...," this album get better and better as it goes on.  All the way up to track 10, "Multiverse," it just escalates ("Multiverse" being where the album peaks).  The turning point in this album is at "Canon 1 in E minor" This song that shows the most classical influence given by Vasallo.  After this instrumental break in the album comes "Annunaki."  This track is one of my favorites (as are the three after it as well as "Binary Souls").  All four of these tracks after the instrumental are absolutely stellar.  Each one has their own theme, but the feeling given by the chunky production and musicianship are constant throughout each track.  In other words, they're all different enough to be their own songs, but they're similar enough to give Oblivion a specific sound (a sound that was kept for their sophomore release, but at what cost).

This album is an ideal album.  It's perfect, full of detailed planning and thought-out riffs and songs.  The structure of the album is perfect because, like I said, it gets better as it goes on.  When bands put their best track last, it makes me happy because that's how an album should be.  The last track should be the grand finale, the song that wraps up the album and includes skills seen from all over the album.  And "Multiverse" does just that.

Something I forgot to mention previously was the progressive influence that can be seen on here too.  This is something else that was (for the most part) lost on "The Path Towards..."  Every so often, one might hear a polyrhythm.  It's not common, and it takes multiple listens to notice (it took about five listens for me to pick up), but it's definitely cool when one does notice it.  This is another thing I love about "Called to Rise" is that after listening to this album for over a year, I can listen to this album today and still find something new.  There is so much to this album that does not always meet the ear.

Now do you see why I hate "The Path Towards..." so much???  Their second album has one (1) progressive section and it lasts maybe four measures.  It loses the classical influence and gains a generic deathcore one.  The complexity and diversity is lost too.  I've listened to their sophomore release more than their debut and, other than the time I actually caught the progressive part, it always sounded the same!  "Called to Rise" is my favorite metal release of 2013, and definitely one of my top ten metal albums of all time.  This is pure opinion, but, if you listen to it, you'll hear what I mean.

Overall Rating: 100%

Originally written for themetalvoid.wordpress.com

The first thing that comes to mind about Called To Rise is that it has a bunch of really good musicians, and one of my favorite guitarist players playing bass. Then what comes after that is a flurry of technical death metal riffs, blast beats and a touch of classical music. This was a great way to bring in the new year; a fresh new metal album to raise the bar. With an all-star line up, how can this album not be a sick fucking metal album? Brutal vocals, technical guitar work, and slamming drums, what else can be better? With the vocals, there is a huge range of sounds possible. One second he is going for a huge brutal low, then he's making an almost clicking noise for a high. And of course he's got a bad ass high scream and a mid growl too. The words that come out of this talented person are things such as oblivion, the end of the world, fire and catastrophe.

Plenty of hate and disgust for Oblivion's fans to devour and spread. Mr. O'Neil is one fine guitarist laying out these sick fucking riffs and solos, ripping faces and blowing minds. Victor is no slouch either, as the deadly duo pierce everyone's ear pussies on this album. Ben Orum from none other than All Shall Perish laid down the bass for this album. There's not much I can really say other than it's Mr. Orum on mother fucking bass and he makes the album even heavier cause it's the low end. Last but not least the drumming by Luis Martinez is extraordinary. Blasts, tempo changes, gravity blasts, this album has it all. The production on this album is clean and you can hear every note being played. And the album artwork is cool too, but it could have been cooler. The bonus tracks are a nice touch if you got the physical cause you get to here two of the songs but they are transposed to strings and an instrumental version of the track Black Veils Of Justice.

I rate this album a 95 out of 100 just for the fact that there weren't any memorable bass lines and the album artwork could have been cooler for a technical death metal record.

95/100 FFO: Anata, classical music, Origin, Fallujah, The Faceless

To describe Oblivion's 2013 debut Called To Rise as purely a death metal album displays a huge degree of ignorance as the band's music contains so much more depth than that. Formed from the ashes of the old lineup of All Shall Perish following the departure of Ben Orum this is an eleven song display of nothing more than pure aggression with more musical depth than many bands can find in their entire discography. Scattered throughout this release are elements of progressive music and black metal with riffing clearly influenced by the thrash metal bands that dominated the metal scene in the 1980's, all with a fine death metal coat that it wears proudly and anchors all of these styles down with and gives it one solid focus. To end the debate, yes this is a death metal release but with a huge amount of variety to its sound and elements of many other genres that makes for one ass-kicking release.

The instrumental prowess on display here is something to be marveled at with some hyper fast and technical guitar playing driving the album forward at a fantastic pace. The guitar work is handled tastefully and is not the complete ear rape that much "technical" metal turns out to be and actually sounds rather amazing on this release. Reigns Of Fire is a great example as to how the guitars on this release sound with its swift transition from the highly technical riffing to a more thrash-influenced style of chord based riffing that serves as something of an interlude. The guitars are also written in a highly progressive manner leaving the listener wondering how they got from A to B. The transitions on this release are ingeniously written so that every riff flows into the next one without disrupting the flow of the release and helping for this album to just feel like one roller coaster ride and a solid whirlwind of lightning fast riffs that is guaranteed to take you off your feet. The solo to Reigns Of Fire is also a brilliant example as to how good the soloing on this album is with a high degree of melody to it instead of the solo feeling like an excuse for Bay Are thrasher Ted O'Neill to shred as fast as he can.

The drumming on this release is intense and varied with the usual blast beats being the main course for this release but also a number of slower beats that never feel lifeless or devoid of creativity. In terms of variety this may well be right up there as one of the most varied extreme metal albums in recent years. Cancer Of Wraiths shows straight away how quickly this album can change styles from the opening beat with a fast lead fill over the top before diving headfirst into some quick blast beats before slowing down a little for a thrashier section and some rapid flurries of double bass work. Following this comes the best riff of the song which is a much slower and much more chuggy one which serves as the chorus riff. Cancer Of Wraiths is probably the best song on the album with its wide array of styles found in the riffs and the constantly changing speeds and who could forget that marvelous slower section toward the end of the song. Multiverse follows Cancer Of Wraiths and is a more interesting track with a clean opening that lasts quite a long time but does not become boring due to the atmosphere it creates before a quick drum fill leads into a ridiculously fast tremolo picked riff and then a beautiful fast-paced thrash interlude riff before the tremolo picking begins again. The vocal work on this song is some of the best found on the album with the raspy growls akin to a melodic death metal band, the higher pitched shrieks that would sound at home on a black metal album and the lower tones. Nick Vasallo is among the most varied vocalists in extreme metal and really adds a lot to this release, roaring his lyrics about fantasy kingdoms and lands buried beneath the Earth with so much conviction.

The 2013 debut of Oblivion is an album to look out for as it is perhaps the best release of the year so far with a lot of passion behind the writing and elements of every extreme metal style seamlessly blended into its death metal core. For an example as to how this album sounds listen to the incredible progressive metal masterpiece that is Multiverse or the long but amazing closer oblivion Part 2. This release has so many different faces to it that make for a varied and interesting thrill ride that will stay with you long after you hear it and although it may seem premature, this is already a potential candidate for album of the year...

Originally written for Sputnikmusic.com