Obscenity - Retaliation

German death metal veterans Obscenity return with their ninth album, with fresh blood in the band this is the second album with new guitar duo Hendrick Bruns and Christoph Weerts and this is also the first album with new vocalist Tobias Mueller who has an awesome growl. I personally have no problems with a band getting a new line up. Plenty of people complain but I think I can give a band a shot in the arm.

"Retaliation" is a strong slice of death metal done the traditional way. It has the flavor and pace of Massacre, Deicide and Cannibal Corpse with the lead work and solo’s of classic metal in the vein of Maiden and Priest. The band don’t rely on blasting it out for the sake of it, every song is varied and perfectly paced and well thought out. The band know when to emphasize on groove and they know when to slow it down and they know when to shred and I can’t stress enough the lead work on the guitars is spectacular. Just listen to 'Embracing The plague' or 'Whore Of Secret'.  On 'Abandon All Hope' the band shows the use of melody gives the song an extra layer of darkness.

What I love also is that the album sounds organic, it’s clear sonically but just rough enough round the edge’s to give a live sound and you can picture the band in a live setting.

It’s old school, there’s not a single pig squeal to be heard however it’s not stale. This is fresh, aggressive straight death metal that’s just so easy to listen to. I’ve been playing it nonstop since it arrived.


  1. Claustrophobic Hell
  2. Embracing The Plague
  3. Whore Of Secret
  4. Abandon All Hope
  5. Ghastly Presence Haunting
  6. The Day Of Wrath
  7. Deracination
  8. Innate Depravity
  9. Soul Eater
  10. Ominous Determination