![Ontborg – Within the Depths of Oblivion ontborg – within the depths of oblivion](https://www.vm-underground.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Ontborg-Within-the-Depths-of-Oblivion.jpg)
Info
- Band(s): Ontborg
- Label(s): Newport Music
- Release Format(s): CD
- Release Year: 2019
- Review Date: July 5, 2019
Melodic Death Metal, as we all know, is usually done best by our friends in Sweden. You just need to listen to At The Gates, In Flames and Dark Tranquillity. Well, here we have some Swedish melodeath, played by a band with a Swedish moniker but these guys are from Italy. Confused?? Yep me too.
“Within The Depths Of Oblivion” is the debut album of Ontborg and with this album they have produced ten tracks of well-crafted Scandinavian type melodeath. A bit of research found that Ontborg was conceived by former members of Voices of Decay and Graveworm. Both bands played their interpretations of melodic death/black metal and melodic black goth metal respectively. So, as you can see the move to melodic death wasn’t that much of a leap.
For me, this is an album that you sit down to, put on your headphones and get swept away in the astounding atmospherics that have been created. From the faster paced tempos of “Living is a Torture”, “Within the Depths of Oblivion” and “A Storm Breaks the Silence” to the slower pulse of “This Time” right through to the rhythmic “Entwined in Darkness” you will hear all the things that make up melodeath including melodic choruses, frenetic double bass drum patterns with fast and harmonic guitar compositions that more than keep you entertained.
The standout track on the album is “Snow of Lethe”. This track is confirmation of the technical skills that playing together and mastering your craft can bring. The snarling and coarse vocals bring a feeling of severe pain and sorrow and that along with some brutal shades of intense drumming in amongst the melodic side of things brought in by some fantastic guitar works which all combines to create a journey that gave me goose bumps.
The members of Ontborg have been playing for ages in the above-mentioned bands and this experience is right at the forefront of this album. No, you won’t hear anything experimental or revolutionary, but you will definitely hear beautifully crafted, well produced and classic Melodic Death Metal. (Longstretch)