The word Obscura roughly translates into shadowy and indistinct. The name was taken by Steffen Kummerer’s German Progressive Death Metal band… but clearly, there is plenty known about the project twenty-plus years since it took shape.
A multi-faceted individual, Kummerer has balanced duplexity successfully for the last two decades, both with Obscura and his Blackened Death Metal band Thulcandra. In fact, putting the two ventures side by side, in between each Obscura album (starting with the 2006 Retribution debut) and each Thulcandra album (beginning with the 2010 Fallen Angel’s Dominion debut), they have been neck and neck with releases. It is impressive to witness Kummerer keeping both bands thriving simultaneously as distinctively different entities. Although, you cannot help but find commonality at times because the songs largely come from the same creator, Kummerer.
With that in mind, you could still make the argument that Obscura and Thulcandra live in two separate universes, especially after listening to Thulcandra’s 2023 Melodic Black Metal masterpiece Hail the Abyss and Obscura’s highly refined 2021 album A Valediction. Each guides the bands forward with interesting new material; in 2025, Obscura returns with its seventh overall studio album, A Sonication.
Set for release on February 7th through Nuclear Blast Records, it sadly cannot be ignored that there is a looming messy story involving former Obscura Guitarist Christian Münzner and Bassist Alex Weber stating that portions of the album’s second single, “Evenfall,” were taken without permission. This situation has caused a stir on the internet and cast a dark cloud over A Sonication’s release. Rather unfortunate, hopefully, all parties involved will come to an amicable resolution in a dignified manner.
With this out of the way, beyond “Evenfall,” A Sonication has a total of seven more songs to offer up, including the album’s initial single, “Silver Linings.” Looking at this for a moment, “Silver Linings” is a powerful introduction to new material, completed with sensation guitar work from beginning to end. In terms of the album’s plotted layout, “Evenfall” follows next, but arguably the most compelling moments arrive a bit later with the well-crafted pace of the instrumental track “Beyond The Seventh Sun.”
Beyond this, “Stardust” is another journey into one melodic guitar riff after another that keeps you interested before the album’s finale, “A Sonication,” which takes you out on a high note. Digging deeper inside “A Sonication,” at over seven minutes, the song is far and away the longest of the entire record and does not disappoint. Complete with plenty of movement, it is more than a minute in before we even hear any vocals, and even then, the instrumentation overpowers the entire song in a positive manner.
Overall, A Sonication is an extremely solid return from Obscura that should please those who love the melodic guitar work and Progressive Death Metal stylings, all while dishing out plenty of stimulating interchanges in the process.
There is no denying that the claims that portions of “Evenfall’s” arrangement being written by another without proper credit are extremely disheartening. Becoming the bigger story than the actual music, it has planted the seed of suspicion in some fans’ minds, but this should not damper the entire record’s full array of songs.
It goes without saying that no one wants to believe the music they love has been taken from another without giving just authoring. Music fans are passionate, and they hold a good deal of pride in the genuine expression of the songs. Plus, they admire the work put in by the players involved; that is why most read the liner notes. However, reserving judgment is a lost virtue in the 21st century, and the destructive noise of social media only makes matters worse in such situations.
Approaching Obscura’s A Sonication with an objective point of view can be a challenge when there is a shadow of doubt. Nonetheless, let us hope that all of the musicians involved (who are indeed friends) can amend any issues. With that, Cryptic Rock gives A Sonication 4 out of 5 stars.
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