obscura always flew under my radar. i mean, i knew they were there and that i would like them because i vaguely listened to a few songs in the past, but i never pursued to get into their stuff. mainly because i knew that getting my hands on some coloured vinyl of their albums would be quite a difficult task. relapse did pretty limited colour runs and never re-pressed them. so availability on second hand market places is scarce and prices are high.
when relapse announced the release of 'akróasis', i wasn't excited that much. other things had higher priorities and to get coloured relapse vinyl is always a pain in the ass, because their cool stuff is always shop exclusive and only black vinyl or lame colours make their way into german distros. every once in a while i will pay them cruel oversea shipping rates but if there is the slightest chance to avoid it, i'll be all over it.
in this case, a chance was given to me by the band's facebook page. i visited it to check some tunes of the record because i saw the european version pop up at the nuclear blast mailorder. at the page i was re-directed to their own e-shop and right there they had all the sweet colours from the u.s. shops. the band comes from germany and so shipping rates weren't a problem. even though it wasn't the most limited, i opted for the sharp orange and bone white merge vinyl because it looks just so delicious.
musically 'akróasis' is a friggin' monster of a prog/tech death metal record. at first i needed one or two spins to get used to that unusual bass play but now i can't get enough of it. it is extremely well done and proves that this instrument can be more than just plain backing. the songs are all so sophistically crafted, it is a real pleasure to discover more details at every spin. especially that monument of a song which is 'weltseele', is the fifteen minute long icing on the cake.
when the band kicks back in after that synphonic interlude, i fell like bruce banner turning into hulk. i want to go bezerk. check the whole album at the band's bandcamp and get yourself a copy of this great album. the record comes in a gatefold sleeve with lovely artwork. additionally to my order i got a free poster which i included in the package, even though it wasn't originally part of it. but as it will never hang on the wall i can slip it inside the cover as well. the vinyl comes with a slick d-side etching. 500 copies made. relapse records. 2016.