Obscene – The Inhabitable Dark (Review)

Obscene are a death metal band from the US and this is their debut album.

Obscene play Floridian USDM, spiced up with aspects of the UK and European styles. There’s a touch of thrash here too. Imagine a mix of Obituary, Death, Cancer, Bolt Thrower, Asphyx, Slayer, and Master, and then get quite excited by how good The Inhabitable Dark is.

The band’s old-school assault is violent and passionate, blazing with blasting fury and screaming aggression. This is tempered with songwriting smarts that allow the band to learn from the past masters of the genre, while successfully imbuing the material with its own personality.

Vicious riffs, ferocious grooves, and speedy rhythms pummel the listener from all quarters. With the songs being as well-written as they are, there’s plenty to get your teeth into here. Full of dynamic energy, confident delivery, and well-constructed layouts, the songs are memorable, enjoyable, and full of brutal hooks.

The vocals are unhinged and inhuman, and despite how divisive I’m sure they’ll be to some, work really well with the strengths of the music. The singer’s tortured howling screams are not for the weak.

The Inhabitable Dark is a very strong slab of old-school death metal, one which I heartily recommend to connoisseurs of the style.

Very highly recommended.