"Classical" is a term that gets bandied about far too often."Classically trained" or "classically influenced" seem to get tossed out every time someone hears a guitarist with better than average talent who writes anything that can be considered "epic". However, the two gents from Minnesota that comprise Obsequiae are the real deal (seriously, one dude specializes in harp composition from the 13th century). Fine, maybe they're not influenced by the classical period as much as they are by the medieval and renaissance periods, but you know, most people just lump all of it together as classical music anyway.
A lot of reviewers seem to want to tag this as black, melodic black or post-black metal. So I guess I'll jump on that boat. However, other than the vocals and what adds up to perhaps a minute of blast beating and trem picking, there isn't a whole lot of black metal here, though I can see how this would appeal to fans of bands with progressive, epic or atmospheric tendencies like Krallice, Agalloch and Drudkh. Actually, if you took out the vocals, I don't think there would be anything too objectionable on this album to fans of medieval music with a soft spot for rock 'n roll or prog rock fans either.
So what does this actually sound like? Melodic black metal? Yep. Progressive black metal? Sure. Medieval music? Absolutely. You'll have to check it out to get an idea of what that sounds like all mashed together.
According to Bindrune a vinyl version is in the works for later this year! I'll make a post about that when the pre-order is up.
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