Style: Ethereal black metal, folk, harp
Primary Emotions/Themes: Beauty, sorrow
Thoughts: I recently went through a strong period of self doubt and hatred. There are points where I will get so down on myself that I'm unable to see anything but the despair. It's completely overwhelming. Those are dark times and I need music to match.
To get me out though, I need a balancing act. An album that is able to see the light in myself and humanity. An album where there is hope and helps put the confusion and despair to the wayside. One where the self triumphs over the ills of man and lets me survive another day. This is where Obsequiae enters into the equation.
There is no band out there that matches the majesty of Obsequiae, at least not within the metal genre. These guys have managed to tap onto a sound that channels the majesty of the night sky. The incomprehensible beauty of nature as it overtakes human civilization. That deep peace that overcomes as the reality of how small most of our problems are when we take a moment and step back.
The band starts every one of their albums out with a harp instrumental. This allows the introduction the core themes of their music: peace and beauty that come with solitude, the majesty that can be found with simplicity, and the richness and depth that can come out of the most unexpected places.
The harp has a reverb heavy production and plays slowly. The notes dance between the resulting silence and the ends up creating something truly majestic. These same principles are taken into the bands core sound when they change genres to black metal.
Just because something is labeled as black metal does not mean that it necessarily takes on all of the tenants of that genre. Sure the band has harsh vocals, blast beats, and tremolo picking... but it's so much more than that.
The tremolo picking creates sweeping melodies that emulate the absolute beauty of nature; the sunset on a cold winters day, the dew on the grass early in the spring, the songs of birds in the summer, and the brilliance of leaves in fall. While the vocals are harsh, they hardly are grating on the ears. They call to mind the sounds of nature, of the beasts that roam the country side.
I could keep going on how wonderful and enchanting this album is, but I fear that I am bordering on redundancy now. The Palms of Sorrowed Kings is an album that hits my turntable when I need to be reminded of the grandeur of nature. The wonder that is the world around me. To bring myself out of my shell and move into the greater world around me once again.
Written December 13th 2023
No comments:
Post a Comment