OBSIDIAN TONGUE – Eclipsing Worlds Of Scorn (Album Review)

For all of the misgivings that exist around what black metal is (some of which are perpetuated by members of the genre themselves) it is in the bright light of day a genre of incredibly variety and contrast, with hard charging bands of inscrutable malice to virtuosic love letters to a bygone era of compositional extroversion and experimentation. The free-for-all “do as you like” ethic and DIY ethos of a genre predicated upon expression in its purest sense as an ontological good can birth music of immense thematic gravitas, or, on the other hand, unfocused hodge-podges of flagrant mediocrity. Thankfully, Obsidian Tongue strikes the proverbial chords of the former with their latest effort, Eclipsing Worlds of Scorn.

A shifting, contorting, dirge-like melodic guitar draws us into the earliest throes of track 1, “Orphaned Spiritual Warrior,” which itself is a transitive and nuanced piece of avant-garde black metal. Perhaps it could do with going harder, bringing in more rawness, asserting itself more poignantly, but in all fairness, by the halfway mark, this is recognized, and the intensity shifts with explosive intent whilst still retaining the most sonorous parts of the melodic portion of Obsidian Tongue’s style.

Suffice to say, such melodic focus lasts about as long as ice cream in heat, with “Snakeskin Tunnel Colony” being a far more traditional affair, replete with messy, compressed production, howling vocals that evoke macabre nightmares, and impactful percussion at the gifted hands of Raymond Capizzo. However, once the most intense parts of the tracks opening peel away, an extended segment of entrancing guitar solo announces itself with a reposed and relaxing conveyance, before eventually carrying this change of pace into a relapse towards loud and aggressive intensity, creating a cohesive and stylistically rich song that displays a multitude of sonic directions and mixes them into a cohesive whole.

The opening entries on “Eclipsing Worlds of Scorn” do a solid job of setting your expectations for what is to come from the rest of the album, as from here it is much of the same for better and for worse. It is certainly a mark on the “for better” side that the melding of elements that Obsidian Tongue focus in on are blended in such a way that overall product is so distinctive and unique, with a progressive side to their music that doesn’t manifest in the way other black metal bands of the same ilk such as Deathspell Omega do, insofar as the overall product feels more deliberately segmented and the progressive and melodic passages given a greater room to breathe and stand for themselves, trading some of the chaotic and spasmic flair of those bands for a mature and coherent refinement instead. As with all things in music, your mileage with that may vary.

To boot, track 3 doubles down upon the established formula with greater aplomb, the title track “Eclipsing Worlds of Scorn” fulfilling exactly what is needed of a title track – to be the bearer of the albums vision, and furthermore to show the greatest execution of it within the wider context of the release. Drums crash, guitars buzz, vocals summon inky perturbation of a kind most deranged, then sublime passages of blissful repose like velvet cover the sprawling catastrophe created by such maleficent aural force, only to be peeled back once more by the onslaught.

It does remain to be said however that when placing a strong song within an album, any weaknesses of the next track are likely to become more noticeable, and I am afraid that whilst “To Forgive Oneself” is by no means a bad track per se, that it’s somewhat meandering pace and overly type-casted stylistic bent does begin to grow slightly old by what is well over the half way point of Eclipsing Worlds of Scorn.

In a sense, a band can become a victim of their own uniqueness, because what makes them stand out also becomes immediately recognizable across all of their music. When this happens, such as to some degree in Eclipsing Worlds of Scorn that it does, it can feel as if Obsidian Tongue became risk-averse and has fallen too much in love with their admittedly otherwise very good sound. Ultimately, for me, and others who find themselves drawn to their sound, it’s no dealbreaker, but I’d be lying if I said a part of me wasn’t yearning for some difference and sonic risk by the 30-or-so-minute mark of the album.

As the old adage goes, “ask and ye shall receive” because following “To Forgive Oneself” is the tranquil and rather different “…And Still They Dream” which doubles down on the more fleeting relaxed passages of music that have been dispersed between the somewhat more traditional black metal sections of ferocity within the album. As I often say, if everything is heavy within an album, then nothing is heavy, and the strategic and frankly necessary deployment of this well-accomplished piece of artistry allows us to reset our listening parameters, enjoy some solid production and be ready again for the last song of the record…

As you may well have come to expect by now, the sixth and final track returns to a harder style, but with a renewed energy that carries the predictable yet well accomplished assorted compositional traits they so distinctly comprise of across its long yet merited 8 minute run time, it’s not a special track – well, not like the title track is anyway, but it conclusively brings to an end the album in a competent, cohesive and interesting enough manner, collating the last 40 minutes of listening into something enjoyable and not overly self-insistent.

Released By: Profound Lore Records
Release Date: May 30^th, 2025
Genre(s): Melodic Black Metal, Progressive Metal, Technical Death Metal

Musicians:

• Brendan Hayter / Guitar, vocals, bass, synth
• Raymond Capizzo / Drums

Eclipsing Worlds Of Scorn Track-list:

1. Orphaned Spiritual Warrior
2. Snakeskin Tunnel Colony
3. Eclipsing Worlds of Scorn
4. To Forgive Oneself
5. …And Still They Dream…
6. Theatre of Smoke and Wind

Order Eclipsing Worlds Of Scorn here.