• New Music Reviews
• |
• Archives
• |
• News
• |
• Submissions
• |
• About
• |
• 
• |
• 

November 2024

• Voodoo Circle: Hail To The King
• Lionville: Supernatural
• Starchaser: Into The Great Unkown
• Empires Of Eden: Guardians Of Time
• Lonerider: Down In The Dust
• Seventh Crystal: Entity
• Neal Morse & The Resonance: No Hill For A Climber
• Beardfish: Songs For Beating Hearts
• Impellitteri: War Machine
• Brothers Of Metal: Fimbulvinter

October 2024

• Casandra's Crossing: Garden Of Earthly Delights
• DGM: Endless
• Daytona: Garder la Flamme
• Fate: Reconnect 'N Ignite
• Frost*: Life In The Wires
• Aries Descendant: From The Ashes Of Deceit
• Fans Of The Dark: Video
• Radioactive: Reset
• House Of Lords: Full Tilt Overdrive
• Cleanbreak: We Are The Fire

September 2024

• Sinner's Blood: Dark Horizons
• Serious Black: Rise Of Akhenaton
• Eclipse: Megalomanium II
• SteelCity: Reverence
• Hydra: ReHydrated
• Heartwind: III
• Gabrielle De Val and the Dragonlords: Tiger
• Find Me: Nightbound
• The Nail: The Nail
• Timeless Fairytale: A Story To Tell
• Stryper: When We Were Kings
• Phil Mogg: Moggs Motel
• Pure Reason Revolution: Coming Up To Consciousness
• Jordan Rudess: Permission To Fly

August 2024

• Siege Perilous: Creation's Call EP
• Paralydium: Universe Calls
• Mike Tramp: Songs Of White Lion Vol. II
• Bite The Bullet: Looking For Paradise
• All For Metal: Gods Of Metal (Year Of The Dragon)
• Hammerfall: Avenge The Fallen
• Jim Peterik & World Stage: Roots & Shoots Vol. 2

[ More Music Reviews ]

An Obscure Signal: Creations EP

Technical Death Metalcore

2.5/5.0

Independent/Self-Promotion
www.myspace.com/anobscuresignal
Review: Craig Hartranft,  08.09.2010

On their MySpace, An Obscure Signal notes: We're doing what we love, plain and simple. I am so glad, because I don't know what they're attempting to do on this five song EP Creations. Possibly organized chaos, or simply trying to incorporate every possible current modern heavy metal trend. You've got fercious, and quite annoying, death metal growls and screams over deliberate amounts of death/thrash metal, some metalcore, a very miniscule amount of melody and clean vocals, and all wrapped up in some psuedo-progressive and technical arrangements. Try reading that sentence really fast.

As a whole, the album and its individual songs are barely listenable. With a single spin Creations (a near misnomer) sounds more like organized musical anarchy, a general assualt, or better, a large middle finger in the face of your musical intelligence. I don't think AOS intends to piss you off, be rude, or generally annoy, but they succeed very well at it.

Nevertheless, on a positve side, every song has moments of brilliance, most notably within Nature of Monsters and Time Left, thanks to some well-timed less cacophonous intricacy and actual melody and harmony. Actually, there's some clever fret work within Expirations and Villians. But, in the end, An Obscure Signal's Creations is essentially a nonsensical rhetoric invoking every modern metal trend, and little else. Where do the go from here? Beats me. They've done it all already. But I am happy that they're doing what they love.

Note: All Amazon advertising in this review first benefits the artist, then Craig Hartranft also receives a residual. Click, and thanks for your support.

In the end, An Obscure Signal's Creations is essentially a nonsensical rhetoric invoking every modern metal trend, and little else.

Alphabetical Index

eviewing my archives, I was pleased to find that I have had the privilege to review every Lionville since their self-titled debut in 2011. Formed by Stefano Lionetti, a songwriter, singer and guitarist based in ... [ Read More ]