OBSCURITY
Bio:
Hammer-forged from the hardest steel of the Bergisches Land, cast in fire, formed upon the anvil of metal, hardened by the water of the Wupper river. A battle axe, so deadly and sharp – made of the same material as the world-famous blades of Solingen...
Something like this you could describe the birth of Obscurity in Velbert (Bergisches Land) in mid-1997.
Five brave warriors (Nezrac, Agalaz, Arganar, Ziu und Dornaz) – though musically inexperienced but full of bellicosity and united in their passion for heaviest metal – formed a force named Obscurity.
The first two years were marked by the earning of the band’s first stripes, the forging of two demos “The Rebirth of the Dark Empire” (1998) and “Christian Decay” (1999), and the finding of their own musical direction and style… ranging from death to black metal and culminating in the present sound of Obscurity.
In 2000, now battle-scarred and more experienced, the first self-produced and much acclaimed album „Bergisch Land“ was forged. „Bergisch Land“ was named after the German region the band originates from and convincingly delivers heavy and fast songs full of rage, which are paired with melodic hymns of victory. Most suitable for riding into battle!
Three years of glorious battles passed until the second self-produced and successful album „Thurisaz“ was crafted in 2003. „Thurisaz“ impresses with unrelenting heaviness as well as hymn-like melodies characteristic of the band. The album unleashes the hatred smouldering within everyone of us and calls for annihilation of all enemies. For this album Obscurity signed a distribution contract with Twilight.
„Thurisaz“ was followed by three years of extensive and successful raids taking place during numerous gigs and tours. However, in 2004 one event cast a shadow over Obscurity’s development since the band lost a brother. Guitarist and comrade-in-arms Dornaz unfortunately had to put down his axe for occupational reasons. Even though this was a severe blow to the band another excellent axeman could be found as a worthy replacement: Cortez, who had been a longtime brother-in-arms of them. Cortez fit in very well with the line-up and added an even more powerful sound to the band. Dornaz has been, is and always will be a brother and member of Obscurity. The band still consisted of “only” five warriors, but from that date there would be six Bergisch lions.
For the third album „Schlachten & Legenden“ (2006) all aspects of Obscurity’s previous records were combined to create a true manifest of heavy metal, which established the band firmly in the German scene. Their mixture of teutonic steel and hymns expanded the number of Obscurity’s loyal followers many times over. The album release was handled by Massacre Records in 2007.
After the release of „Schlachten & Legenden“ Obscurity once again took up arms several times and always returned from the stages in triumph.
In 2008 the band suffered a second serious setback when Nezrac, not only being the singer and frontman but also another brother, quit Obscurity. He retired from the squad due to changes of a private nature, which made it no longer possible for him to completely devote himself to Obscurity – a decision the band highly respects. Like Dornaz, Nezrac will also still be regarded as a part of the band and a brother.
Since then Obscurity has consisted of four Bergisch lions with Agalaz now handling the vocals in addition to his guitar work. Agalaz has already proven his ability having taken over many vocal parts on previous records as well as having done background screaming live. Therefore, choosing him as the new frontman was just a logical consequence. Every once in a while Obscurity is supported by another longtime friend: Bony (Japanische Kampfhörspiele) has been a true and dedicated comrade of the band since 2000; he has assumed guitar and vocal duties in a couple of Obscurity’s battles so far. Furthermore, Bony firmly stands by Obscurity as their producer!
In mid-2008 the band won the label SMP/Trollzorn over to their side as a mighty companion. So they entered the studio again in September 2008 to compose a further piece of music history! The new album will be entitled „Várar“ and the name says it all… „Várar“ is Old Norse and means oath of strong company, which can be felt within the band more than ever. The new album features vocals by Agalaz and offers melodic and hymn-like arrangements as well as violent battle metal. It combines the musical skills of all the band’s previous records to emerge as a brute masterpiece. This way the band is able to create an unprecedented intensity and atmosphere, far away from all NSBM-scum and kindergarten-keyboardmetal in the vein of Nightwish.
For the album „Várar“ Obscurity were assisted by two guest singers: while Arkadius of Suidakra took over some vocal passages in the song „Wer Wind sät“, it was Manuel, another fellow combatant of the band, of death metal kings Path of Golconda who spit out some vocal parts for the track „Battle Metal“!
The new album is expected to be released in early February 2009. It will be a call to all loyal followers of the band as well as to new warriors to prepare the weapons and to join the band one more time in their march onto the battlefields.
The album “Várar” was released in March 2009 and took both press and metal community by storm. Supported by brilliant reviews and solidly high sales figures Obscurity are heading for a promising future.
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