Via TheMetalCircus.com (translated) : "Last Thursday the event of the month for lovers of technical death welcomed us in the Vault room: the Germans Obscura organized a tour of Europe as a presentation of their new album “Diluvium”. For the occasion they had the support of other bands of the genre, Fallujah, Allegaeon and First Fragment, which did not leave us indifferent.
Last February 14, although we had no one to spend Valentine's Day with, we did have where: and that is, with a partner or without, we had an appointment with Obscura in the Bóveda room in Barcelona . The Germans, despite being active since 2002 and with four LP's behind them, had to wait until their fifth studio album to come to Barcelona for the first time as headliners. The LP that has done the honors has been "Diluvium", released on July 13 of last year, which they came to present to Barcelona as part of the " Diluvium Europe 2019 " tour, which will continue without rest until its last date on February 23.
For this special occasion, Obscura has had the collaboration of three supporting actresses of the genre. Californians Fallujah, from deathcore, took the opportunity to anticipate their new work "Undying Light", which will be released on March 15. So did Allegaeon, one of the most anticipated bands of the evening, who also hope to release LP on April 19, "Apoptosis", but who still did not hesitate to give us a taste of the new material. Finally, the Canadians First Fragment joined the crusade, performing with their only LP “Dasein”.
The start of the concert was in the hands of Canadians First Fragment , who despite having been active since 2008 did not release their first LP until 2016, "Dasein". Even so, we were more than satisfied with his style, virtuous and technical at best, but without forgetting the expression of the lyrical. In this way, in their short performance of just half an hour, they delighted us with some songs from their only LP such as “Voracité (Apothéose, partie 1)” or “Gula”, from their most listened to songs, where they performed a simultaneous single between the two guitars and the bass. They also did not forget their last single from 2017 "Le Serment de Tsion", which caught the public's attention at the beginning of the concert. Among the songs they did not hesitate to include an instrumental interlude where the two guitarists and the bassist had their moment of splendor of virtuosity, even with lyrical melodies and a jazzy touch. Although it does not happen very often, they had a fairly acceptable and balanced sound despite being the first openers, although basses were missing at some point. To finish their contribution, they went back to their roots with “Paradoxal Subjugation”, from their EP “The Afterthought Ecstasy”, with which they received a great ovation from the public as being one of the band's most anticipated songs.
Allegaeon's mood The next to take the stage were Allegaeon , the technical melodic death band from Colorado. The Americans are gearing up for their new album "Apoptosis," due to be released on April 19, of which they played a song. Already at the beginning of the concert we noticed that, despite being the same style as the base, in the case of Allegaeon it was a style where they gloated considerably in the melodies (even in the riffs), although at the cost of the technique, which she was much more relaxed than in First Fragment. Even so they did not fall short in visrtuosism. In their contribution to the event, they played quite scattered themes in their discography. They started with "All Hail Science", abundantly chanted, and "Gray Matter Mechanics - Apassionata Ex Machinea", from "Proponent For Sentience". At this point it was noticeable how the room began to fill, and the audience to revolutionize, to the rhythm of the first songs. The technicians also took the opportunity to test the smoke machines in a failed attempt that left us submerged in the fog, and we were somewhat misled by the notable absence of the guitars. In this way they entered the "Elements Of The Infinite" with songs like "1.618" and "Gravimetric Time Dilation", interspersed with "Stellar Tidal Disruption", of the yet to come "Apoptosis".
Among all the fuss of the animated audience organizing moshpits in the middle of the room, the sound had been improving until it was balanced and quite clear within what could be asked, and it was time for Allegaeon's farewell with “Behold (God I Am ) ”, From their second LP“ Formshifter ”preceded by the farewell. Mixed feelings were noted in the audience: dissatisfaction at the end of the concert, as they played a mere 40 minutes, and the expectation of what was to come next.
The Fallujah crash It was the turn of the Fallujah Californians , who, like their stage partners Allegaeon, are waiting to get a new job soon, in mid-March. Despite this, they also did not deny anticipating themes of this, since the new "Undying Light" is about to fall. They started with "Carved From Stone" from "The Flesh Prevails", and then began to introduce songs from the future work into the setlist: "Ultraviolet" and "Last Light", which were interspersed with songs from "Dreamless", such as "Abandon" , "Scar Queen" or "Amber Gaze". The problem was that the band did not quite catch on with the public. It is not known whether it was the low quality of the sound, where it was difficult to distinguish the bass drum and the guitars and bass were not clearly appreciated, probably due to overly powered basses, or that the style was a bit out of tune with the genre of the other bands, it may than a very intense tour. Mood dropped considerably compared to the previous bands, with less pronounced ovations. Thus ended his part Fallujah, with "The Void Aloe", also from "Dreamless", giving rise to the headliners.
Darkness invades the room Finally it was time for the performance of Obscura , one especially relevant, since for the first time they performed in Barcelona as headliners of their own tour, "Diluvium Europe 2019", as a presentation of the album they released on July 13, "Diluvium". In this way they began the concert with "Emergent Evolution", from this latest album, and as the night wore on they continued with the album tasto with songs like "Diluvium", "Mortification Of The Vulgar Sun" or "An Epilogue To Infinity" . Again, the sound does not start out particularly well, a fact that does not prevent the public from receiving the band with recovered spirits, and although the sharpness of the sound is quickly recovered slightly, the virtuous effects of the guitar were not appreciated. Thus, we return to capture the difference in style even when being in the same genre: the virtuous solos of guitars and bass return, although with less lyrical and darker melodies, with a more brutal touch. Despite having to present their new work, they did not forget some of their most listened songs, such as "Akróasis", from the self-titled album, or "Incarnated" from "Cosmogenesis". The acoustic beginning so identifying of “Septuagint”, of the “Omnivium”, encouraged the public to sing until it became the most popular song of the night. Obscura (Photo: Itsaso Urkia)
Accompanied by lights and a smoke machine that played to the music, they definitively ended the evening with one of the most anticipated songs of the event. For "The Anticosmic Overload", the first song of "Cosmogenesis", the band asked the audience for destruction, encouraging us to organize circle pits and leave us the nape of the last song. In this way the evening ended, with the levels of spirit and satisfaction recovered before the technical death metal of Obscura. " Originally written by Júlia Benevelli for themetalcircus.com
