FACE OF OBLIVION — Cataclysmic Desolation (review)

FACE OF OBLIVION — Cataclysmic Desolation album cover

Album · 2016 · Brutal Death Metal

2/5 · 2016-09-30
adg211288

As a reviewer I end up listening to some releases that I may not otherwise have known about. Some of them end up being great. Some of them end up actually being pretty bad. Every so often one comes along that really isn't all that bad, but ultimately only only invokes a reaction that's along the lines of a grunt, a shrug of the shoulders, or a thought such as 'okay then...', after which I'll move up feeling complete indifference to what I just heard. This can happen with any genre of metal, but most often I find it happens with certain brands of death metal, which can also see me going away feeling disbelief and even disgust depending on the individual album. The latest album to land in my inbox for review that falls into this category is Cataclysmic Desolation (2016), which is the second full-length album by US act Face of Oblivion. I hadn't heard of these guys before. They had something of a small claim to fame within the death metal scene on their previous album The Embers of Man (2011) as it featured ex-Origin vocalist James Lee, but he's gone now and replaced by Jesse Watson, also of Incinerate.

Let's start off with what kind of death metal that these guys play. Cataclysmic Desolation is twelve tracks of brutal death metal that focuses on short songs (only one goes over four minutes). It is technically well played and even complex material, something which does make it more interesting that the run of the mill brutal death metal band, but this is the kind of songwriting where everything seems to be about being as extreme as possible with the apparent mindset that the quicker each song is over and done with the better it will be. It doesn't seem as if the band are much interested in developing any of their ideas any further than going straight in and getting the job done with minimal fuss. There's nothing inherently wrong with the method but here, as seems to be the case with most albums of this kind, we just end up with about 35 minutes of music that doesn't have a lot of substance. The album does offer one ray of hope in the form of the slightly longer track Shroud of Hypocrisy though. It's amazing to hear what investing just that little bit of extra time into the song structure and delivery does for Face of Oblivion's music. Hell, there's even a downright melodic passage thrown into this one, something that may not sound like much but actually works wonders. The rest of the album may perhaps have come over a bit better if the production gave the music and vocals a better balance in the mix, as I feel that the vocals overpower any time they are present, which is most of the time.

Speaking of which, Jesse Watson mostly uses a deep an unintelligible style of growling here which is about in line with what I'd expect to hear from this genre. Sometimes there are some pig squeals which I see as one of metal's most love them or hate them features. Personally I'm in the latter group, but they don't detract from my experience of the album too much, but that's mostly because upon its conclusion all I'm left feeling are some of those emotions I mentioned at the start of this review. Indifference and disbelief. No disgust this time though. That's reserved for albums that get switched off without my getting to the end, and I did actually get through this one in a single sitting first time, which does make it better than most of its ilk. Usually the switch off comes for group's that don't have Face of Oblivion's technical side.

Let me explain why I feel indifferent to Cataclysmic Desolation now. The problem is that I feel like I have heard it all before. Yes, the band do having a saving grace in their technical prowess which is something I can appreciate, especially during vocal breathers when the instrumental work stands out more, but the ultimately effect of the band is actually the same as any artist that just goes completely whole hog on the brutal death metal sound and as such the technical playing ends up seeming neither here nor there in how the album comes across. And it comes across as boring. Once again a band of this breed comes along with the skill on display but then ends up producing something that doesn't have anything going for it to give it any kind of identity of its own, nor do any of the tracks really stick with me after the event for the same reason.

And that's also why I come away from a record such as this in disbelief: there are so many artists out there who seem to adopt this exact same approach and the band that is actually worth their salt in both musicianship and songwriting is a rare find, while the rest is dime a dozen stuff. Not technically bad music, but unremarkable all the same. The existence of such a release ends up feeling rather pointless because of that, as most artists sound like they're completely interchangeable, as if the genre itself is stagnated. Of course that could be said of any kind of music until you manage to hit on the genuinely decent stuff. I simply notice it more in Face of Oblivion's niche of death metal because I receive a lot of albums for review in this or similar style.

I'll be fair to end this review. When it does come down to it Cataclysmic Desolation isn't the worst example of technical brutal death metal that you'll find, not by a long shot even. Face of Oblivion drew a short straw here in being the group to receive this tirade, which has honestly been brewing up for a while now and could easily be applied to many similar albums I've received over the years if you just change the names and context. I rarely actually review albums like this for that very reason. The content of such reviews would be just as interchangeable as the artists. As far as this album goes I can't personally recommend it, but devotees of the genre may still find something to enjoy here.

more than 2 years ago
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adg211288 wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Just did and I still like that one. Recommended if you don't know it.

http://www.metalmusicarchives.com/album/septycal-gorge/scourge-of-the-formless-breed

adg211288 wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Yeah there have been a few releases that I rated higher, though the only album considered brutal death I ever actually bought is Nile - Black Seeds of Vengeance. I remember quite liking one by a band called Septycal Gorge a couple of years back too. I should listen to that one again.

Nightfly wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Whilst there's plenty of good brutal death metal I sometimes feel like that myself when it's all style over substance. Haven't heard this myself though but will have a listen.