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Blog Categories Review Requiem for Oblivion – Hindsight 2020 - Reviewed By Metal Temple!

Requiem for Oblivion – Hindsight 2020 - Reviewed By Metal Temple! Tuesday April 20 2021, 8:51 PM

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Requiem for Oblivion – Hindsight 2020 - Reviewed By Metal Temple ! Check it out here at this link: http://www.metal-temple.com/site/catalogues/entry/reviews/cd_3/r_2/requiem-for-oblivion.htm

REQUIEM FOR OBLIVION is a progressive death metal band that started in 2007, based out Erie, Pennsylvania in the United States and this is their third EP entitled “Hindsight 2020” released on March 5th, 2021 independently through Bandcamp.

“Lies and Fire” may start with a keyboard effect at the start, but it quickly evolves into a maelstrom of energy, aggression and deep grind-like riffs from the guitars. Even the snare sounds violent on this one. Where do the vocals stand, I would say somewhere in the vein of the old school Florida scene, early MORBID ANGEL would be the best comparison. While the song may not be overly technical, it changes its pace quite a few times, going into 1990s KATAKLYSM material. It relies on a fair share of dissonance as well.

“Collapse the Structure” uses a different vocal type, while I would not categorize them as clean, maybe you could see a resemblance with VADER, when the growls are much less prominent. There is more chaotic structure to this one, using some gothic metal undertones and a shamanic side to the vocal delivery at times. This is as close to post-metal I have ever heard a progressive death metal attempt, as the music transitions to doom riffs, blast-beats and even guitar leads that are strongly reminiscent of DEATH. On a first-time listen, the track is not easy to follow, but it has some well-performed guttural parts that will make DYING FETUS fans delighted.

“Shatterpoint” is a completely different beast, with a “gonzo” style, meaning it simply gets right to the point, with vocals flirting with the black metal style. When you are prepared for the song to go into overdrive, it turns into a funeral doom piece, and right back into a grindcore/thrash tone, that should please EXHUMED fans. Something added to this one is a more melodic guitar solo in the middle of the song, that was not present in any of the previous tracks. There are times here where I felt I was hearing a death metal version of a MINISTRY song.

One thing I can guarantee is that your ears will bleed after hearing the track “Conspiracy Bro” is it a monstrous number in how it balances a violent nature, with wild technical progressive, syncopated riffs. It has some of DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN’s structure, mixed in with MESHUGGAH and all the makings of old school death metal, all wrapped up into 1 piece of music.

The final number on this one, “Esoterica” has the cleanest intro of the entire album, with no distortion in the opening guitar riff whatsoever. Add some spoken-word lyrics at the start that bring us into a post-apocalyptic doom track and probably one of the most violent djent-influenced songs I have ever heard.

Honestly, words are very difficult to use to describe this band’s music, because it goes in a thousand different directions, relying on death metal, djent, progressive metal, thrash metal, grindcore and even industrial music. The mishmash of genres in every single song makes it a challenge to pay attention to all the gritty details, but if you have patience and are a fan of unique death metal, you will find something in here to enjoy.

Songwriting: 7
Originality: 7
Memorability: 7
Production: 6 - Metal Temple

Requiem For Oblivion is the brain child of Steve Jacobson (a veteran of the metal scenes in both Sacramento, CA and Erie, PA). Steve has assembled various musicians throughout the years to help him push his dream onward.

The band has been considered 'hybrid' death metal because of all the various influences and manifestations of the music. Each song takes listeners down many roads and one could say there are songs within songs. Steve usually reaches for different themes lyrically, which are not typical of the genre.

Requiem For Oblivion has played a show hosted by Metal Sanaz and has shared the stage with national and regional acts such as Katatonia , Intronaut , Tesseract , Vital Remains , Cult Of Luna , Kataklysm , Fleshgod Apocalypse , Rose Funeral , Mushroomhead , Kriadiaz , Ventana , Here Lies Another , Demons Within , and Scarwork .

RFO has played many festivals and numerous clubs around the tri-state area (PA, OH, NY) as well as their home base of Erie, PA over the last 9 years. With no concerts in the foreseeable future, the band currently consists of founder Steve and drummer Mike Scutella. Together they have solidified their tech-death, slam, atmospheric style and bring in a new era of songwriting consistency.

Together, during the pandemic, they have written 15 new songs, in addition to the 5 being released next month (EP Hindsight 2020 due out March, 2021). In addition, the new full length is nearly completely written...(Amidst Chotic Earth, due out fall/winter 2021).

The complete discography includes a couple rare singles, demo in 2010 (not currently available), EP2011, EP2013, Dark Tales Of Forgotten Mindscapes in 2014, Burning Nation in 2017, Hindsight 2020 (in Mar.), and the upcoming Amidst Chaotic Earth in 2021.