REVIEW: NE OBLIVISCARIS – “Exul”

Standing out in a genre as diverse as progressive metal can be a tedious task. The comparisons will always be made to bands like Dream Theater, the be-all to end-all for most prog fans. Ne Obliviscaris, however, has become the shining light, a beacon of originality for the last two decades. They have rewritten the rules and broken the mold of the somewhat niche environment.

This is the first new material from the Australian band since 2017’s ‘’Urn.’’ They toured extensively in 2017 and 2018 and have been working on and off on the new album, ‘’Exul,’’ ever since. It’s finally out and it did not disappoint. They take the genre to new heights of experimentation.

To be perfectly honest, I have never really listened to much of Ne Obliviscaris. I have heard about them for the last decade or so but never sat down properly and listened to their material. I came to understand that many fans out there compare them to early Opeth, Persefone, and of Wilderun.

I was definitely not prepared for this type of quality for a progressive metal album and this bodes well for their extensive touring schedule in 2023 and 2024. They are coming to North America in the fall with Montreal stalwarts Beyond Creation and the aforementioned Persefone. That’s a show I do not want to miss, that’s for sure! If you want a ride on the Progressive Extreme Metal bullet train, this tour is for you.

Looking at the full metal soundscape, we get a lot of the elements that are familiar to fans of the band. The roaring guitar and drum sound must be some of the most brutal and corrosive in modern technical death metal. There’s a strong use of blast beats and double kicks as well as fast riffs, but as a difference from most bands in the genre, these guys did not design their music to be as fast as fluent. Instead, it’s shocking through its extremely tight delivery of mathematical odd-timed riffs and patterns as well as its unpredictable nature. I feel this album went less tech and more prog as the tempos are usually moderate and the composition relies highly on groove and rhythmic experimentation, allowing the full blast beat-driven tech-death sound to make its way in only in the highest moments of tension (and there’s plenty of those). As a result, the music is a lot less constant. It comes in waves from chill, groovy and melodic parts to brutal riffage, intricate techy musicianship, or blistering fast technical parts. All the different aspects keep moving back and forth, stealing and then releasing the spotlight for a different sound to emerge, but the music keeps its flow.

The use of violins and assorted instruments does give this band an essence rarely seen in progressive metal. The creativity, technicality, and musical imagination of this Australian group have the power to surprise even the more skeptical. Any kind of musical genre that you know can be found buried into the songs of “Exul“, but with more epicness, along with some far-out ideas and complex ways to make music. And if there is anything that I appreciate in music, is the ability of a band to mix genres and unite to them their own complexity in only one thing. Death growls, operatic choirs, classical music, industrial, folk, and acoustic are just some of the main things that Ne Obliviscaris can put in the same bag, all in a row. There are few bands in this world that are able to mold all of that stuff in a well-composed and epic full-length with 52 minutes.

I do not have a favorite song from this opus, it’s difficult for me to pinpoint something in particular, and prefer to see it as a whole instead. Strongly reminiscent of the last Persefone album yet less instrumental. The album has the same vibe, and the same energy, from frantic to calm, to spacey, and everything in between.

We already have an album of the year contender and it’s only in early January. Ne Obliviscaris and Persefone are setting the bar very high for any band of the genre and sub-genre. They are breaking new ground, establishing something parallel to the aforementioned Dream Theater but making the genre its own thing. Unconventional, irrational, uncontrollable yet highly enjoyable album with its fair share of madness and sheer creativity.