Oubliette – Eternity Whispers

I find variety in black metal very interesting. Despite the main tropes of the genre being pretty clear and not very complex, I feel like when people start getting creative with it and experimenting outside of its main constructs, very pleasant surprises can occur. Such is the case with Oubliette and their recently released album, “Eternity Whispers“.

In terms of composition, all the black metal elements are there. There is very heavy use of blast beats and double pedal sections on the drums and there is a tremolo picking guitar drilling through almost all the time. A sense of constancy and monotony is achieved by having these core elements present all the time. The vocals are also quite typical of black metal. They’re dry mid-range screams with hardly any tone variation or rhythmic impact, and placed low enough in the production so they don’t feel central to the music. Picking up the lyrics is obviously challenging, as it should hehe.

But beyond that key groundwork, many features steer this album into a different direction from what I generally regard as black metal. From a production standpoint, the sound is very crisp and clear, but also very full and striking. It has a lot of definition and attack, and even through the drilling of tremolo picking guitars, most details on the different instruments can be easily picked up. So it has that wall of sound monotony, but a lot more clarity and transparency in what actually happens compositionally. This makes it come across as less aggressive and more honest.

Oubliette – Eternity Whispers

From the melodic standpoint, it is even more surprising to me. Black metal melodies generally sound menacing, ominous and hostile, but on this album, the melodic approach rather feels ethereal, soaring and epic. There’s a lightness and excitement to it that completely flips the emotional impact of the music. I don’t perceive it as dark but as strange, curious and fascinating, although calming and peaceful. It’s a lot less harsh and more inviting. An element of darkness is still there, but it does not dominate. The wall of sound is subjected to plenty of variation, strengthening and releasing, with tricks like the drum pattern staying constant while the guitars switch to some more dynamic death metal moments, or just one guitar staying fixed on tremolo picking while the surrounding instruments start experimenting in various directions. Through this technique, a constantly present duality of entrancing monotony and gripping composition is formed, making it possible to listen to the music both passively and attentively. There is plenty of variation in the songs, moving from hard-hitting blasting and impactful riffs, all the way to epic soaring moments using open chords and epic melody lines. The wall of sound itself is subjected to plenty of variation as well, through constant evolution of the main tremolo picking melody line, as well as layering lead melodies or momentarily interrupting the flow with snippets of down picking riffage.

Oubliette – With Death’s Shadow

Another crucial element in Oubliette’s sound is the use of lead guitars. Apart from a few fully developed solos, which aren’t common in black metal, there’s constant use of melodies and noodling scattered through the songs, layered over the wall of sound or shining through suspended moments. There’s some synth to add to the atmosphere, melody and immersive feel as well, but it doesn’t often grab the listener’s attention. I feel like it becomes most noticeable on the album closer, ‘Vanish’, where both the energy and impact, as well as the epic aura, reach their peak, leading the album towards an epic finale!

When putting things together, “Eternity Whispers” is a powerful album, showing a lot of flexibility and experimentation to take the groundwork of black metal and rework it for an entirely different emotional payoff. The technical abilities of the musicians are exceptional, despite this not being the focus of the album. On top of this, the talent in melody writing and atmosphere building will likely result in a far broader audience than just black metal listeners being able to enjoy their music.

Track List:

1. Primordial Echo (06:00)
2. With Death’s Shadow (04:15)
3. Consumed by the Void (05:31)
4. Desolate Path (06:37)
5. Dreams of Nevermore (05:40)
6. Ember’s Embrace (04:05)
7. Vanish (06:40)