Obiat is a quartet hailing from
London, UK. After a thirteen-year hiatus, they return with their fourth LP, a sludge
doom metal record filled with psychedelic and proggy textures titled Indian Ocean. Just like the real Indian Ocean,
it features a unique mix of ethnic flavours and influences.
Whenever a band takes this long
between albums, you either get one of two results: a crappy attempt at
recapturing their former glory or a stunning work that establishes them as a
legit force to be reckoned with. Thankfully, it’s the latter in this case. Obiat
has been around for twenty years already, and while I wasn’t familiar with them
until Indian Ocean landed in my lap,
I am now. From what I’ve sampled, they’ve evolved and grown tremendously,
having gone through lineup changes (including different lead singers). The end
result was well worth the wait, as cliché as it sounds.
I wasn’t instantly taken with the
record but it rapidly grew on me with every track as it progressed. I kid you
not, the first side of the album kept getting better with each song. “Ulysses”,
the opening cut, is a decent song that goes through multiple stages and the presence
(and good use) of a bamboo flute got my attention. “Eyes and Soul”, an almost entrancing
number with its distorted vocals kept my attention. “Acid Wake” is a doomy song
that reeled me in completely and the recurring bamboo flute is lovely here. I
wasn’t prepared for what came next in the form of “Nothing Above”: this song
absolutely blew me away! It features guest vocalist Sofia DeVille and is a
slower, saxophone-infused song. It’s the most haunting piece I’ve heard in
quite a while and my favourite track on the record. The kind of song you immediately
press repeat to hear again. It’s followed by “Sea Burial” which is on-par with
the previous track, an intricate and masterful sludgy metal tune. “Ad Meliora” is
eclectic and reminiscent of Tool, which is always a good thing in my book. “Beware
the North Star” is the lengthiest track, running a little over ten minutes
long. Its atmosphere feels epic, it starts off gently and bursts like a
supernova. A gorgeous song that is runner-up for my favourite off of this Indian Ocean. The curtain comes down
with “Lightness of Existence”, a lovely Japanese spoken word poem/song set
against soft accompanying music where the bamboo flute, drums and keys play a
major role. An unexpected, yet perfect way to cap off this wonderful journey to
the Indian Ocean.
A lengthy record clocking in at
an hour for eight songs where not a moment is wasted, Indian Ocean takes the listener through the whole gamut of human emotions.
With this album, Obiat proves that they’re here to stay and that they master
all areas of their craft, from lyric composition to musicianship that is second
to none in a plethora of music genres. It’s a stellar album from top to bottom—let’s
just hope we don’t have to wait another decade for a follow-up!
Obiat’s Bandcamp page: https://obiat.bandcamp.com/album/indian-ocean
❤️❤️❤️🔥🔥🔥amazing!!!
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