Obscene - Agony & Wounds

Angry Metal Guy 50

When first I heard Indianapolis OSDM fiends Obscene on their 2020 The Inhabitable Dark debut, I was quite impressed by the raw, nasty sound they wielded like a blood-soaked cudgel. It was like the best bits of early Pestilence, Asphyx, and Obituary distilled into something extra gruesome and then leaked into the beer supply. It offered nothing I hadn’t heard prior, but it kicked much ass and took many a name. I was considerably less enamored with the 2022s From Dead Horizon to Dead Horizon, which felt less impactful and memorable, although the basic template and style remained the same. It seemed like the band rushed a second album out before it was ready for prime time and I was left wanting more. Now, we get Agony & Wounds, their third release in 4 short years. That’s an impressive degree of productivity for any act, but has the speed of release come at the expense of songcraft? That’s the big question here.

Absolutely savage opener “The Cloverland Panopticon” offers a promising start, sounding like something off Pestilence’s godlike Consuming Impulse platter, adding dissonant guitar lines that feel claustrophobic and panic-inducing to the usual OSDM gallop and stomp. It makes the song feel jangled and unsettled, disturbing and oppressive. It’s the kind of tune you would play to make non-metal friends leave the room and as such, it’s a win. There’s enough raw power in the thrashy blastery of “Watch Me When I Kill” and “Breathe the Decay” to overcome a sense that you’ve heard this exact song a million times before, but neither are what I would call essential death metal. “Noxious Expulsion” rights the ship somewhat by taking the best of prime Pestilence and Obituary and injecting sadboi gloomy melodoom leads and melancholic introspective amid savage death blasts and horrific vocal excesses. It works and stands out as something a bit different.

Agony & Wounds by Obscene

The second half of Agony & Wounds is a mixed body bag of nuts. Several tracks feel generic and rote, failing to grab my attention (“Death’s Denial,” “The Reaper’s Blessing”), but there are a few average to slightly above average moments. “Dressed in Corpses” starts out with a vaguely d-beaty gallop but slowly mutates into heavier and more sweeping moments capped off with some impressively melodic solo work. The closing title track stands out because it’s essentially a Gothic doom-death number with somber piano lines, restrained heaviness, and emotive, melodic solos that wouldn’t feel out of place on a Candlemass album. Unfortunately, taken as a whole, Agony & Wounds is more filler than killer, with only a handful of cuts really making a lasting impression. While it’s great to hear Obscene trying new things and dabbling in dissonance and doom, the end results aren’t a complete success. This is an album that should be totally in the Wheelhouse of Steel but man, I really struggled every time I tried to digest this thing in one sitting. Songs bleed together and fail to hold my attention, and I had to force myself to backtrack to replay songs that made me glaze over and miss entirely. The 41:47 run-time feels much longer and despite the new elements, the bulk of the material leaves me unfazed.

There’s legitimate talent on hand here, with guitarist Mike Morgan in particular showcasing chops and ability. His solos are inspired, especially the melodic ones, but there’s a glaring absence of truly killer death riffs to kick the ass region. Bolt Thrower-esque power chugs are present at times but dialed back and the dissonance elements are used too sparingly to make a big impact. Kyle Shaw’s over-the-top vocals are a love-or-hate feature of the Obscene sound and will always alienate certain factions of the metalverse. He’s essentially blending the sound of Martin Van Drunen (Asphyx, ex-Pestilence, ex-Hail of Bullets) and John Tardy (Obituary) and then trying to outdo them in excess and volume. He’s all in and fully monstrous but he can’t save stock, generic material. It’s the writing that really comes up short here, with too many tracks feeling underwhelming.

Agony & Wounds isn’t a disaster, and it does have redeeming features, but the downward trend continues from their codswalloping debut just a few years ago. Perhaps Obscene need to slow their roll and take more time developing songs with more immediate impact and staying power. I want to like them more than they are allowing me to and that’s a shame. Worth a spin for playlist poaching but this one falls well short of the must-hear level.

Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Nameless Grave Records
Websites: obscenedeathmetal.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/obscenedm | instagram.com/obscenedeathmetal_official
Releases Worldwide: July 12th, 2024

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