Artist: Pyre
Country: Russia
Label: Osmose Productions
Formats: LP / Cassette Tape / CD
Year: 2025
Ever since Russia’s Pyre’s appearance on the international Death Metal scene the band has been appreciated for their take on the Old School way of playing. The strength of the band was mainly found in their ability of combining Death Metal of different altitudes. The previous Pyre album dates back to 2020, the nearly five years that have passed on account of covid and especially their homeland’s brutal and unjustified invasion of Ukraine must have made it more difficult to arrive with new material. But even with that rather long time between records, it is heartening to see that the band is not only alive and kicking, but also still capable of delivering solid Death Metal.
‘Where Obscurity Sways’ might not sound as raw as some of the band’s earlier material, it still very much wears the Pyre name with pride. Albeit with a bit more accessible sound, the band is still able to combine different sorts of Death Metal into something that works remarkably well. There is still a decent amount of buzzsawing Swedish Death Metal to be enjoyed or the recognizable old schoolism of Obituary and Morbid Angel, but on top there is a lot of melodicism and technicality to digest as well. Just take a listen to a song like ‘Murderous Transcendence’, compared to the earliest Pyre recordings this seems miles away, yet it still feels familiar.
Perhaps it is the band’s ability to be able to convincingly combine just about everything into one solid piece of Death Metal that adds to the sense of familiarity. Yet it is not only that bit of overall recognition that adds to the entertainment value, it is also the album’s dynamics that keeps the whole thing rather fresh. On top is the evidently good musicianship and the clean production.
For me, however, it is mainly the latter that causes a minor downside to ‘Where Obscurity Sways’. The lack of a bit of a rawer edge to the overall production and especially the guitars makes my attention wander a bit at times. I am aware that this is mainly a matter of personal taste, but in my world Death Metal usually benefits hugely from a bit of a dirty and grainy production, to give the music that necessary darker atmosphere.
While ‘Where Obscurity Sways’ might not end up high amongst my favorite Death Metal records of the year, definitely, these Russians deliver a solid album. Those who enjoy their Death Metal well-played and with a good dose of diversity and agility and don’t mind if it stays a bit of the safe side certainly should give this record a spin.
