### Obsidian Tongue: A nest of ravens in the throat of time

#### 05/10/13 || sincan

OT: Oh hi guys, look at my new record! It is called “A nest of ravens in the throat of time”“ Everyone else: ZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Except one guy: Cool dude! Let’s listen to it and drink a couple of Pabst blue and do some promo pictures using my analog camera! OT: Super awesome, we know a couple of trees which are close. If we do it right we will not even see the sidewalk and it will look as if we was in a real forest!

Well, with such a fucking PRETENTIOUS title they just had to get that introduction, the two man piece, from Massachusetts. If i tell you that they offer “atmospheric” black metal dealing with nature and stuff will you prolapse out of astonishment? Guess not.

I will not be longwinded with this one in that sense that I can either brag about details here and there if it wasn’t for the fact that this album is so hard to stay focused at. Everything is more or less handled in a good way and we are served with a typical Northern American forest inspired metal, nothing wrong there, however the tracks and music are lacking that extra part giving it the mesmerizing aura that is so important. Well maybe I’m a bit harsh now, since that feeling is partly there, but in too small quantities. But the fact remains, the tracks are stretched too far without containing enough good riffs to stretch or enough details to spice up the songs.

What I find rather disturbing is the lack of originality in this album. Many of the Northern American forest inspired black metal bands (that is: worth listening to) are rather similar in some terms but usually has an own artillery of inputs to mix things up a bit and create their own thing. Either transcendent atmosphere created out of the wildest and most organic reverbs like the case with WITTR or more cold epic landscapes as with Agalloch or maybe the hypnotizing pounding as with Skagos. But when it comes to Obsidian Tongue the only thing I can relate to are the clean downhearted vocals thrown in here and there, and they are what is lifting this album a bit. But it is too heavy for them to do this alone.

If all tracks were as good as Individuation this would’ve been an awesome album, just look at how a killer riff kicks in just before the rather epic vocals, almost giving me goosebumps, here and there during the track. Whereas a track like “My hands were made to hold the wind” with a length of 7 minutes and 47 seconds needs about 6 minutes before the party starts.

Either this is a grower or it is lacking things, as described above. I will maybe find out, if my patience is enough.

- Information
- Released: 2013
- Label: Hypnotic Dirge Records
- Website: Obsidian Tongue’s Bandcamp
- Band
- Brendan Hayter: guitars, vocals
- Greg Murphy: drums

- Tracklist
- 01. Brothers in the stars
- 02. Black hole in human form
- 03. My hands were made to hold the wind
- 04. The birth of tragedy
- 05. Individuation
- 06. A nest of ravens in the throat of time