Entry 1497- Obtained Enslavement - Soulblight

Style: keyboard driven black metal

Primary Emotions/Themes: Incredibly complex and intricate black metal that deals with the obscurity of that which is less savory in life

Thoughts: Where do I start with an album like this? There are so many things going on at all points that I am lost in the torrent of Obtained Enslavement's finest album. 

Obtained Enslavement play black metal, keyboard driven black metal to be exact. This is not a new thing by 1998 when this album was released, quite a few bands had explored this style during most of the second wave. The thing is, no one did what Obtained Enslavement was doing. 

Obtained Enslavement's sound can be summed up as such: blast beats, scratchy vocals, layers of riffs, and even more layers of keyboards. There are so many things going on at any given moment of the album that it's hard to keep track of it all. 

The guitars will have two to three leads playing throughout the album. The keys will overlay that with a piano sonata or other accompaniment, the drums back is all up with near constant blast beats. On top of all that Pest screams in a way that only he can: a half scream half howl of pain with a snarl that I have yet to hear anyone match.

What Soulblight does better than nearly any other black metal is the continuous string of riffs and concepts. The band is nearly a constant string of riffs that never seem to run dry. No singular concept is repeated more than a few times before it is discarded and the band moves on to the next. 

If this was done in a hap hazard way the album would sound terrible, yet it does not. This is a masterclass of composition. The riffs and sections fit into each other effortlessly. The songs move like a flowing river rather than a chopped up mess. I can't get enough of it. 

It's a damn shame that Obtained Enslavement ended when they did. Who knows what would have happened if the band continued. On the other hand bands like this breaking up only adds to the legend, and we have some of the finest albums in the black metal genre as a result. Either way between Soulblight and Witchcraft the band released two of the finest albums in all of black metal.