Obsidian Tongue - Volume III (2020)^{Release ID: 16822}

I was a huge fan of Maine duo Obsidian Tongue's last full-length, 2013's A Nest of Ravens in the Throat of Time. Since that album was released Falls of Rauros drummer Raymond Capizzo has joined mainman Brendan Hayter as replacement for original skinsman Greg Murphy. The almost seven year wait certainly seems worth it as this is even more epic than Nest of Ravens. The black metal riffing is spot on and Hayter varies between his BM shrieks and calm, clean vocals, both of which are excellent and a cut above the majority of black metal acts. The production really adds a nice depth to the sound and the songwriting is spectacular, with plenty of textural and temporal changes, engaging the listener with genuine epic story-telling. For my money Obsidian Tongue are one of the great underrated black metal bands of recent times and deserve to be considered along with the likes of Panopticon at the forefront of the atmo-black scene.