Formed way back in 1997, this long running German band presents their tenth full length album, and they have kept their style almost intact, which is a type of melodic Death Metal with a few Black Metal touches here and there. I can also sense a bit of influence of bands that are more related to Viking Metal, and in this case the reference would be AMON AMARTH, which not only have that Viking Metal sound, but as a whole the band at times sounds like the Swedes, including the vocal delivery, although I would say not as melodic. The production values are very good, and I specially like the drumming, which is quite dynamic. By the way, the vocals and lyrics are all in German, which makes them sound different from the usual English vocalisation. Some of the riffing reminded me a bit of CARCASS in the way they use melodic passages. Every new listen to the album it has that epic sounding melody here and there that is very similar to Johan and the boys, with some Gothenburg sound of the ’90s to have a balance in their sound. The band actually sounds a bit more personal when they play fast, as their mid tempo sections sound more like other bands. They actually have a guest from the band MANEGARM from Sweden, but he’s doing the vocals in German. Some of the faster parts in songs also give me an EMPEROR essence at times. So yes, there is nothing new in the air, yet this is well done and if you like bands in the style, this is for sure one of the best, no wonder they have been around for so long and releasing so many albums. www.facebook.com/obscuritybergischland, www.facebook.com/trollzorn