#ne-obliviscaris — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #ne-obliviscaris, aggregated by home.social.
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Azure Emote – Cryptic Aura Review
By Owlswald
Azure Emote is the project of two very busy musicians, vocalist Mike Hrubovcak (ex-Monstrosity, ex-Vile) and guitarist Ryan Moll (Hypoxia, Total Fucking Destruction). In between their work with many acclaimed death metal acts, the duo reconvenes every five years or so to craft a new Azure Emote record.1 What began in 2010 with Chronicles of an Aging Mammal as an experimental think tank for their genre-defying ideas has steadily evolved into their own eclectic brand of avant-garde death metal. Cryptic Aura marks the group’s fourth full-length and their third featuring the same all-star lineup: drumming powerhouse Mike Heller (Abigail Williams, ex-Fear Factory), legendary bassist Kelly Conlon (ex-Death), and violinist extraordinaire Pete Johansen (ex-Sirenia). Anna Murphy (ex-Eluveitie) also joins this renowned lineup, contributing her enchanting clean vocals.2 While long gaps between releases and an overabundance of ideas have historically hindered Azure Emote, Cryptic Aura strives to defy this pattern, arriving with a clear ambition to be both darker and heavier than anything they’ve released before.
Imagine a collision of Dimmu Borgir, Ne Obliviscaris, and Mithras and you’ll be in the ballpark of describing Azure Emote’s sound. Hrubovcak’s symphonic keyboards and Shagrath-esque blackened growls top Moll’s driving riffs, Conlon’s dexterous bass and Heller’s remarkable drumming to create occult-infused songs rich with dark atmosphere and dramatic flair. Heller’s performance on Cryptic Aura is mind-blowing. His blazing tom rolls (“Aeons Adrift”), tight rhythms (“Disease of the Soul”), and creative backbeats (“Return to the Unknown”) are consistently jaw-dropping, at times even overpowering the album’s bright DR 9 master. Johansen’s violin steps into a main role, often assuming a folky, crestfallen tone across the album’s ten tracks.3 Enhancing Johansen’s violin are Murphy’s backing vocals, her majestic croons (“Bleed with the Moon”) and ethereal melodies (“Feast of Leeches,” “Aeons Adrift”) driving haunting transitions. She is a welcome addition, offering bouts of serenity and a fresh touch to Azure Emote’s relentless instrumental virtuosity.
Azure Emote’s technical elements frequently coalesce to create powerful, well-structured material, despite their inherent complexity. Still incorporating a wide array of musical styles and ideas into a progressive death metal mélange, Cryptic Aura feels more calculated than past efforts. “Disease of the Soul” is a prime example, standing out as one of the album’s strongest tracks. It demonstrates the group’s unified musical vision, maintaining control amidst torrents of virtuosic chaos. Likewise, “Feast of Leeches” showcases this synergy—Murphy’s soothing pitches, Johansen’s violin, and Hrubovcak’s synth arrangements artfully balancing its thrashy riffs, relentless blast beats and Moll and Conlon’s adventurous soloing. Johansen’s violin plays a crucial role in grounding Cryptic Aura’s songs and providing a consistent thematic thread. Far from being buried in the mix, Johansen often takes the lead, offering melodic death-folk elements and a variety of engaging leads and solos that share the spotlight with Moll. From trilling melodies (“Aeons Adrift,” “Insomnia Nervosa”) to chilling atmospheric passages with delay (“Defiance Infernus”) to a somber homestead feel (“Bleed with the Moon”), Johansen’s versatility adds a distinctive layer to Azure Emote’s multifaceted soundscape.
While Cryptic Aura features impressive technicality and several strong tracks, its prevailing density occasionally hampers it, thereby leading to listener fatigue. Heller’s performance, while spectacular, is overwhelming at times—particularly on “Defiance Infernus,” “Into Abysmal Oblivion,” and “Aeons Adrift”—due to his blistering speed and the drum-forward mix. Furthermore, the powerful beginnings of “Provoking the Obscene” and “Aeons Adrift” ultimately dissolve into exhausting complexity during their chaotic conclusions. “Bleed with the Moon,” meanwhile, offers a repetitive, cascading instrumental barrage that offers little reprieve from its intensity. Murphy’s performance serves Cryptic Aura well, however, helping to counterbalance the overwhelming instrumentation. Her choral passages shine—notably the Gladiator-like ambient transition in “Bleed the Moon”—and her dramatic and warm tone commands attention on “Return to the Unknown” and “Provoking the Obscene.” Unfortunately, she is largely confined to backup duties—a disappointing and missed opportunity.
Though not without its flaws, Cryptic Aura remains a good album. A consistent lineup has allowed Azure Emote to streamline their creativity, presenting their impressive virtuosity with a newfound focus. With Cryptic Aura, the group has found solid footing, marking a positive evolution and resulting in my favorite record from them to date. Such progress ignites my excitement for the future. My only hope is that their next iteration arrives much sooner.
Rating: Good
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Testimony Records
Websites: azureemote.bandcamp.com/music | facebook.com/azureemote
Releases Worldwide: July 25th, 2025#2025 #30 #AbagailWilliams #AmericanMetal #AvantGarde #AzureEmote #CrypticAura #Death #DeathMetal #DimmuBorgir #Eluveitie #FearFactory #Hypoxia #Jul25 #Mithras #Monstrosity #NeObliviscaris #ProgressiveDeath #Review #Reviews #Sirenia #TestimonyRecords #TotalFuckingDestruction #Vile
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Fantastic concert last night seeing Ne Obliviscaris live, supported by Psycroptic.
Such an intense experience. Six musicians on stage bringing two albums to life, an overwhelming light show, fire artist Jessie Spin performing during some songs, the energy and chaos of the circle in the audience at times.
And great to share it with my daughter, who bought me the ticket.
(Down side, arriving in time for only half a song from Valhalore. After seeing them headlining a few weeks ago, I was really looking forward to seeing them again.)
#NeObliviscaris #Psycroptic #MelodicDeathMetal #ProgressiveDeathMetal #LiveMusic
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My daughter has bought us tickets to see Ne Obliviscaris in 10 days, supported by technical death metal band Psycroptic and local symphonic folk metal band Valhalore. Ne Obliviscaris are performing their Exul and Citadel albums in full.
Daughter plays violin, so she's excited to see Ne Obliviscaris, with a violin up front. And I really enjoyed Valhalore when we saw them a few weeks ago.
Should be a fun night out.
https://neobliviscarissom.bandcamp.com/album/citadel-2024-remaster
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Introduce yourself with your top 5 #Music (Band) picks! #Metal edition.
- #RiversofNihil
- #Obscura
- #NeObliviscaris
- #Gojira
- #Synestia
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#concertphotography #musicphotography #metalband #metalmusic #concert #photography #sonyalpha #band🤘✌️
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I love this album. I just went to listen to it and realised I didn't own it. That is now rectified (though I just realised I could/should have bought the recent remaster... crap).
Thanks for the reminder, @MFDOOMALLCAPS
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Do you like #NeObliviscaris but could live without the growls? An #Instrumental one for @DXMacGuffin's #ProgTuesday:
#Vipassi: Phainesthai
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Part 2 of the pics I shot at Into The Gr⚰️ve Day 2!
Bands in this video:
- #Sanguisugabogg
- #NeObliviscaris
- #Butcher
- #CrystalLake
- #OurHollowOurHome
- #Hammok
- #Brujeria
- #TerZiele
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📷 by me #sethpicturesmusic #sethabrikoos
#intothegravefestival #metalfestival #metalhead #metalmen #metalboy #longhairmen #metalguitarist #metalguitar #metaldrummer #metalconcert #deathmetalmusic #metalband🤘✌️
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This week in @DXMacGuffin's #ProgTuesday, a two men (and an epic beard!) band:
Iapetus: For Creatures Such as We
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Nothing like a metal gig with violin on top to make you forget. Or in this case: forget not/Ne Obliviscaris.
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NE OBLIVISCARIS, "Misericorde I - As The Flesh Falls" (Official Song Premiere) 2023
#music #metal #prograssivemetal #extrememetal #neobliviscaris #seasonofthemist
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in new #NeObliviscaris the guitars sometimes sound like violins. i don’t think they’re using a bow, but it does feel like a violin player is playing them, if that makes sense https://open.spotify.com/track/36houGk00A1AnyhXowlsaa?si=oQ7sThjdQdO01ji4v1kXgg #metal
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Kolejna muzyczna polecajka dla fanów ambitnych, ciężkich brzmień.
Ne Obliviscaris z Australii, czyli jak połączyć kilkunastominutowe piosenki progresywnego death metalu ze skrzypcami i czystym wokalem skrzypka właśnie. Już 24.03 wychodzi ich nowy album "Exul", single są przepotężne. #muzyka #neobliviscaris #exul
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NE OBLIVISCARIS Exul Album Review | BangerTV
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NE OBLIVISCARIS - "Graal" (Official Music Video) 2023
#music #metal #prograssivemetal #extrememetal #neobliviscaris #seasonofthemist
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Ich habe jetzt so Einiges von Ne Obliviscaris durch und muss mich ernsthaft fragen, wie ich dieses Kleinod des Progressive Metal jahrelang nicht wahrgenommen habe.
Das ist an sich genau das, was ich total mag. :-)Lange Songs, schneidige Stimmen, grandiose Gitarren/Bass-Arbeit, vielseitiger Drummer, Nicht-Metal-Einflüsse und das Ganze catcht auch noch live...
#neobliviscaris #progressivemetal
Ne Obliviscaris - And Plague Flowers the Kaleidoscope live in Colorado 2016
https://invidious.snopyta.org/watch?v=rNuVdsx7qJY&local=true -
Ne Obliviscaris : Citadel 🖤
Another top tier Australian band. They are great live and have a new album due out next year. Been a few years though, so will be front and centre for the tour gig that follows.
