Ultra -Violet
Arising from the chilly waters of the Massachusetts shoreline, we have Brendan Hayter, the brains behind the musical project known as Obsidian Tongue. It began as a solo outing, and in November 2009 drummer Greg Murphy joined the band. This is a journey that transports you to the rugged mountains, dense woodland, running barefoot across the coast and curling up in front of a fire inside a cave, in the style of Bear Grylls. The music is ominous, full-bodied and multi-layered as we venture into various incarnations of the metal genre. For me though, this is quite haunting as I get Peter Steele (RIP) through the speakers and I am just stunned. It is a similarity that follows through the whole record, flowing in and out as the music takes its mood. Obsidian is a glass-like volcanic, igneous rock and occurs when the lava cools down quickly, it is lustrous and tougher than normal window glass. Spiritually it is said to be a shield against negativity, helps to relieve mental stress therefore stimulating growth and exploration with a clear and organised mindset. I can see a niche in the market for this stuff my friends.
There are five tracks here, first is ‘Anatkh ’ a word synonymous with ‘fate’ and all that she brings, a dark and brooding, ultra- melodic, quite masculine if you will, composition, you will see the Type O Negative parallels here, and the – wait for it- banshee screech at 3.17 to slap you into the next realm. With surging drums and guitars, we head into the decompression zone at 11.11, as the music is stripped back to an almost tribal drumbeat, a rallying cry possibly, to gather the faithful. It is now time to partake in the potion to kill off what is harmful in ‘Poison Green Dream’ and be reborn. The juxtaposition of pleasure and pain, the casting out of evil, it is indeed alchemy. The lyric ‘from a wisdom I don’t deserve, from an escape I haven’t earned’ we see the continuing battle between right and wrong, we are damned if we do and damned if we don’t?
We march forward into the vesica piscis, to enforce our power and ‘Return To The Fields Of Violet’ but hurry my friends as ‘the portal is closing’. Like cadent tears, the story unfolds to reveal vulnerability yet there is always a silver lining, a light that flickers into life and leads us to our freedom, our destiny. Forgive me if I digress dear readers, but the music lends itself to that. The world of sensitives and psychology are discussed in ‘Empath’ and how some people are naturally inclined to feel the pain of others quite keenly, more so than most. It can be seen as a superpower to be able to relate to people on that level, but dangerous too if you absorb their anguish much to your own detriment.
The bleakness makes way for a fragile, graceful composition to finish the record in ‘Coda- Child In Ice’ which I sense harbours a yearning. It is incumbent that I avail to you the possibility that this is an emotionally vital and immense body of work. It will require a certain courage and aptitude to see through the smog and attain a precious and fulfilling grasp of the material- I shall brook no refusal. With you, my friends, it is in safe hands.