AN NCS VIDEO PREMIERE: OBLIVION — “IT HAS BECOME”

 

The music of “It Has Become” is deeply unnerving, coiled with a tightening tension that springs open into eruptions of unhinged violence. It provokes the kind of adrenaline surge of a flight-or-fight response, but maybe more likely to send you running as fast as you can. And now the song has been matched with a video that’s equally unsettling and electrifying.

The song is one of many excellent tracks on The Path Towards…, the second album by the Bay Area death metal band Oblivion, which was released last November by Unique Leader Records. And for those of you who might not have discovered it so far, this new video that we’re bringing you today provides a vivid reminder that this is an album you should get into without further delay.

 

 

The band have described “It Has Become” as a song that represents some of the main themes of the album:

“Despite the billions of years of evolution leading to humanity’s total preeminence, we have created a technological dominion that is quickly growing out of our reach. The intertribal conflict and desire for material wealth that benefitted us millenia ago in a harsher, simpler world now chains us to the bottom of a rising ocean in which survival demands unity and order at a higher level. Our failure to surpass our limitations leaves a clear niche for a superior competitor to fill, to displace us, and to continue the cycle of oblivion.”

Consistent with these themes of impending threat and encroaching oblivion, the lead riff of the song seethes while the drums batter mercilessly. The vocals veer from vicious growls to cauterizing shrieks. The bass thrums while the melody slithers like a rampant disease vector; the lead guitar flickers and swirls in lunatic fashion, the drums going off like ranks of artillery and then jolting like driving pistons in the red zone. The speed and frenzy of the song increase to a crescendo of frightful mayhem. When it ends, you might feel like taking a deep, gasping breath.

The video, directed by odd VIDS, is something we’ll just let you experience for yourself without an attempt at descriptive prose. It’s enough to say that it connects well not only with the music but also with the conceptual vision described in Oblivion’s statement quoted above.

 

The Path Towards… was composed by Nick Vasallo, and was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Zack Ohren at Sharkbite Studios. It’s available now from Unique Leader via the links below. And we’ve also included a full stream of the album right after the video.

OBLIVION is:
Nick Vasallo – vocals, guitar, bass
Ben Orum – guitar
Ted O’Neill – guitar
Luis Martinez – drums

Buy:
Physical orders: https://www.indiemerchstore.com/b/oblivion
Digital orders: https://uniqueleaderrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-path-towards

Oblivion:
https://www.facebook.com/OBLlVlON/