Labels: Kattran Records/Osmose Productions
Formats: Vinyl/CD/Tape/Digital
Release Date: 31 Jan 2025
Tracklist:
1. Where Obscurity Sways
2. From The Stygian Depths
3. Domains Of The Nameless Rites
4. Wandering...
5. Murderous Transcendence
6. Writhing Souls
7. Chanting Ancient Incantations
8. Pestilential Fumes
9. Descending...
10. Prognostic Of The Apocalypse
It wasn't my intention to feature two Russian bands back-to-back, but I guess them's the brakes right?!. Unlike Searching The Shores For My Jackie, Oh; Pyre have existed since 2011 and are more well known in underground circles for their take on death metal. Under the nurturing wing of Osmose Productions (and with help from Kattran Records), they released their third full-length Where Obscurity Sways in January. There's a couple of guest appearances on it too, with vocals from Antti Oinonen (Cadaveric Incubator) and I.K. Winterheart (Ulvdalir).
After a few weeks of listening to tech-death (away from the blog), it’s refreshing to be listening to hear something that’s more deeply rooted in the moody, doom-like depths of old school death metal again. Pyre have the sound nailed on Where Obscurity Sways and after the title-track’s extended intro, out jumps Slayer-esque black-thrash filled death metal. It’s a stellar way to start the record and without so much as a pause for breath, ‘From The Stygian Depths’ takes over with the mid-paced percussive/bass murkiness of Oleg Malleus and Dym Nox respectively, as well as the exquisite guitar work from both Roman Rotten and Fred Obsinner. The addition of guest vocals from Antti Oinonen (of Cadaveric Incubator) drag things to even deeper depths, complementing the already nasty vocals of Dym and Roman.
‘Domains Of The Nameless’ has such a classic sound to it that it’s hard to believe it was released this year. There are so many influences and elements at play, and given the passing of UK heavy metal icon Ozzy Osbourne recently, it’s hard to ignore how much today’s extreme metal community take inspiration from Black Sabbath. Leaving that thought behind, Pyre choose ‘Wandering…’ as a brooding guitar interlude, which clears the way for ‘Murderous Transcendence’, the album’s longest tome.
As the night begins to draw in ever closer, the sound of screeching guitar and pummelling kick-drumming fills the speakers. Pyre’s use of feedback coupled with filthy reverb-laden vocals really show that they’re capable of much darker things. The guest vocals from I.K. Winterheart (of Ulvdalir) add an extra dimension too. ‘Writhing Souls’ slowly drags you into the album’s latter half with more enticing doom-like riffs and excellent musicianship all round! The old-school mix of death, black and thrash metal is performed so well that you’ll forget that Pyre’s a product of the 2010’s.
Faster tempos, blasts and reverb greets you on ‘Chanting Ancient Incantations’, as Pyre lurch forward from ploughed furrows to bleak horizons, that earlier seemed very far away. The shorter songs on Where Obscurity Sways (like this one) have an impact for sure but there’s something about the album’s longer songs that make it feel much more engrossing. ‘Pestilential Fumes’ pulls itself up to that engrossing layer by incorporating both the fast and slow dynamics of Pyre to help produce a truly killer song.
There are similarities between penultimate interlude ‘Descending…’ and earlier one ‘Wandering…’, which may not come as a surprise. It does slightly ruin the momentum of the album’s closing portion but as it immediately leads into final song ‘Prognostic Of The Apocalypse’, all is soon forgiven as one last black-thrash battering awaits. It’s a punishing way to end things but it also shows the quality that Pyre possess.
I feel like I’ve slept on this band for too long. They are deserved of praise for their passion for creating music that sounds not only more mature than it should, but also fresh amongst the barrage of brutal/tech-death that assaults us in 2025 (I enjoy both those forms of death metal more than ever but variation is the key).
You can stream and purchase Where Obscurity Sways on all formats from Pyre below:-
Osmose Productions - https://www.osmoseproductions.com/
Kattran Records - https://kattran.ru/
Pyre - https://www.facebook.com/pyredeathmetal
Osmose Productions - https://www.facebook.com/osmoseproductions
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