2026, the year of Heavy Metal? Perhaps. It is still kinda young, and time will tell, right? But there seems to be an awful lot of bands jostling to reach the heights of these anointed few manning the peak of this metal pyramid. You know, those currently basking in the darkly sparkling light of some highly polished blackened stone.
The year’s first few months already yielded Heavy Metal bands that weren’t all that impressive, whereas others truly excelled. Yet, Obsidian King here darkly insists it wants to attach its scrawny behind to either end of the spectrum, whatever comes first. What will come out of that is anybody’s guess, and we’re still reeling from the onslaught.
The acid-laced, high-pitched metal scream right at the starting blocks of God The Watcher, the first track, already tells you where Obsidian King is heading. Somewhere in between AI-driven synth madness, Dream Evil, and Iron Maiden, this one surely got our attention. And right after the RMR crew thought we had it figured out, an early Cirith Ungol-ian shouting match starts emerging from the props. This, and a few other influences, rush through this first concoction as if there’s going to be a prize to be had at the end.
That many Heavy and Traditional Metal bands speed up their tune is nothing new, of course. But here, Obsidian King displays a style that exudes those vile vapors of an offhanded rush job. A production that didn’t quite know in which murky direction it was finally heading. But they sleepwalked in there anyway, a bit like American politics these days. And thus, El Jefe Supremo of the local songsmither’s guild seemingly threw in all known elements from the big, wide trad metal world. And this resulted in a record that tries to be everything at once in a frantic attempt to catch ‘The Vibe’. One that favors abrupt, somewhat unrefined changes in mood and flavor at a whim.
Yet, Ravenspell still thought of adding some variety to the mold, such as the (traditional) inclusion of those (pseudo) doom samples that many Heavy Metal bands favor. Just head over to the last track, Attila, with its Sabbath-y mellowness that would have sat well on a savvier tracklist. Even if the nonsensical intro to this – for once – pretty remarkable song left us more confused than amazed. Book of the Dead is the second melancholy blurb on Obsidian King that kinda holds its whiskey. Even if the corny intro straight from Red Dead Redemption was as cringeworthy as they come.
As to the rest of the tracklist, the RMR crew didn’t find much to write home to mama about. A haphazard and motley collection of ideas that never quite led to a consistent conclusion. And to get to the end of this road to perdition, the band kinda hastily raced through the motions, instead of magnanimously strutting through their very own metal soundscape as true masters must. To the point that the band sometimes loses its beat and speeds off into the blue yonder, with the drums trying to follow in hot pursuit. And that is a pity, as this band has got the goods to do great things in metal.
Ultimately, Obsidian King left us cold like the famous black stone it describes. The record runs the gamut of whatever the genre regurgitated before. And the issue before us isn’t the musical prowess, the lack of meat on those metal bones, or the undeniable vocal powers of the screamer-in-chief. It is the apparent inability of Ravenspell to distill an alluring amalgamation from what came before. You’ll find other ‘newcomers’ to the Heavy Metal world who did themselves a killing with their stunning Heavy Metal savoir-faire. Greyhawk were mentioned by the promo dude as an FFO1 influence, and – yes – there’s some truth to that. But Obsidian King need to traverse a legion of leagues to get even close to the latter’s mighty wake in this ocean of Heavy Metal flotsam and broken dreams.
Thus, Ravenspell need to change tack and get back to the studio. The talent we can see, but there’s serious work to be done for that sophomore record. As to this one, this was, let’s admit it, a painful listen. Now, if you’d excuse us, some serious metal beckons this crew.
Record Rating: 4/10 | Label: Fighter Records | Web: Official Band Site
Release Date: 12 March 2026
- For fans of.-↩