This is the third album from US death metal band Obscene.
I enjoyed 2020’s The Inhabitable Dark and 2022’s …From Dead Horizon to Dead Horizon, so knew that Agony & Wounds was destined for my earholes. Obscene vomit forth 42 new minutes of material on this new platter, and if you liked their earlier stuff, then you should very much like this too.
If this is your first encounter with Obscene, I’ll throw out the following bands to help orient yourself with their old-school death metal ugliness – Obituary, Death, Cancer, Bolt Thrower, Asphyx, and Master.
Agony & Wounds is Obscene’s longest album. This newly available space finds the band expanding on the core of their vicious sound, refining and developing it into the lethal killer that it is. The songwriting structure, nuanced performances, technical detail, and outright tortured daemon vocals have all become sharper and more focused. The music is more aggressive this time around, benefiting from a sense of dynamic energy and passionate zeal that has enlivened the material. The band are on fire, and Agony & Wounds is a testament to their increasing skill with the style.
This is probably the Obscene album I’ve enjoyed the most. There are some murderously good riffs here, but every part of it just sounds venomous and serrated. This is not the blunt force trauma approach to death metal that many bands adopt. No, Obscene are a more akin to a whetted blade, honed to a deadly point, and Agony & Wounds cuts deeper than ever before.
Very highly recommended.
Wonderbox Metal 
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