Customer Reviews

Oblivion Beckons

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Byzantine, first "discovered" by Lamb Of God and signed to the excellent metal label Prosthetic Records, have added another diverse and heavy album to their body of work. Full of intricate, crushing riffing, unexpected twists and turns (the sudden shift into ethereal and melodic clean-tone classical-style guitar near the end of "The Gift Of Discernment", for example) and very tight musicianship and great production values, this is a very solid effort that almost any fan of "extreme" metal should enjoy. Reminiscent of such bands as the aforementioned Lamb Of God, Strapping Yound Lad, and Mushroomhead. Cool, dense and suprisingly nuanced metal laced with progressive elements. Recommended.

Oblivion Beckons will be one of the best cd's released in 2008 when it's all said and done. I own their entire catalogue and this is the best material they have written IMHO. And They Shall Take Up Serpents (2005) is also a phenomenal cd and laid the ground work for O/B, which introduces some new twists and turns for the band. In particular, the vocals are more melodic and less Anselmo-like than Serpents, the songs are more streamlined, focused, and tighter but very technical and progressive at the same time. The do this really cool almost "new age" sounding mellow guitar part at the end of "The Gift of Discernment" that struck me. It's actually beautiful and incredibly witty. They also do this cool acoustic instrumental called "Renovatio" which is 2:16 and leads right into the next song. The leads are extremely melodic and tastefully done with a lot of feel and emotion. Of course, the metal / thrash foundation is still present, and the stellar musicianship thines through. Too bad they broke up right after this. Byzantine are from West Virginia - the same area as Lamb of God. I like LOG a lot but to be honest, I like Byzantine better. This is an Automatic Purchase meaning you don't need to think about it, just get it, you won't be dissappointed at all.

Give this cd a good listen before passing judgment. I have been a fan of these guys for quite some time. Tony's guitar playing is outstanding, as usual. Very impressive. I prefer heavy music with a good groove. Sometimes you have to wait for the breakdown, but's it's worth it every time. If you're a metal fan, give these guys a try.

This album is devastating. I think it's a good thing when a band has over 2 years between albums because it usually indicates that they're really focusing on the material and taking things to the next level. That's exactly what's happened here. The chops are just a lot tighter than they were on And They Shall Take Up Serpents. The songs just seem to be composed better as well.

Overall, I think this will be in the top 3 metal albums of 2008. It's rare that you find an album this diverse in the metal spectrum.

Very heavy Cd.I usually like more melodic vocals,but sometimes I like a little growling.Good songs, and it's a shame they broke up.
It's probably very hard for bands to stay together, especially with all the hard work involved with the traveling.The music hits hard, and if you like this kind of metal, it is good and heavy.

At first listen, this record did not invigorate me. However, I have had the opportunity to listen to this record dozens of times in the months following the initial five or so listens. I must say, with each listen I do enjoy the album a bit more. I initially spoke of their predictability, but I am a fool for saying such a thing, as many of their songs are musically varied. I still do not like some (most) of the melodic singing on the album (which there is quite a bit), but I must praise Byzantine for at least trying something original. I still draw some parallels to Killswitch (heavy into sing-songy), which is unfortunate for me.

Chris' guttural growls, especially on the opening track are some of the most passionate I've heard. The production of this album is great and the sound is top-notch. Give this CD some good time to soak in, otherwise you might mistake it for some of the other shlock that's out there (as I did right away in my initial review). Don't expect to fall in love with Oblivion Beckons right away. I have bumped it from a 2-star to a 4-star rating.