Obscura
February 21, 2022
Photos by: Lizzy Livingston
A Valediction North America Tour 2022: Obscura, Vale of Pnath, and Interloper on February 21,2022 at Barley's in Knoxville, TN.
It’s a brisk Monday evening in the bustling college city of downtown Knoxville, TN.
A local family strolls down to their beloved brick and mortar pizzeria, Barley’s, in hopes of enjoying a peaceful meal together. This picturesque Southern family walks in and is greeted by a scruffy, mulleted host wearing a band shirt that reads more like a bundle of branches rather than anything decipherable. The family gaze around curiously and notice there are merchandise tables set up in their usual dining area. They then spot all the typical ilk of alternative individuals one would find at a metal show. At this point the family are equal parts befuddled and horrified when the host inquires if they are purchasing tickets as opposed to where they would like to sit and dine. Little did they know they were going to be served up slices of delicious death metal if they opted to brave the show. The family seemingly lost their appetite and quickly scurried away. Too bad for the Brady Bunch because German Technical Death Metal veterans, Obscura, Blackened Death Metal force, Vale of Pnath, and Progressive Death Metal trio, Interloper, fed the hungry crowd a smorgasbord of tasty death metal jams on this evening.
The first course of the night came in the form of LA-based supergroup, Interloper, priming the crowds’ collective palette with their more proggy dishes of death metal delights. Though Interloper is comprised of former and current members from Rings of Saturn and The Faceless (Miles Dimitri Baker, Andrew Virrueta, and Aaron Stechauner), they aren’t nearly as extreme sonically. Interloper is what you get when you substitute the brutality of those projects for soaring melodicism while maintaining the same technical prowess. Even in a setting more fit for a local acoustic singer/songwriter rather than a metal band signed to Nuclear Blast Records, Interloper owned the stage, leaving the audience craving more of their savory fury.
By now the appetizer had digested and the crowd were ready to devour a heavier meal. An appetite that only Vale of Pnath could satiate. Despite not having their usual array of lighting and stage enhancements (there simply was not enough room), Vale of Pnath were still able to bewitch the crowd with their captivating performance. Mighty vocalist, Ken Sorceron, and crew whipped the crowd into a frenzy throughout their entire set. Hair flying in the front row, bountiful amounts of moshing, a palpable energy that did not wane. Even during 2 brand new, unreleased songs the crowd ate up every note. That’s how much they enjoyed the taste of darkness and despair served up hot and ready from Vale of Pnath.
The crowd saved just enough room for the third and final course of the night, Obscura.
A vibe personifying sight to behold was their gigantic stage banner stuffed on to the back wall adjacent to a massive advertisement for Miller High Life with what appeared to be a witch sitting on a crescent moon. This witch had the best seat in the house as she watched Obscura deliver a delectable hour-long masterclass of professionalism and proficiency throughout their set. They slayed through several choice cuts from their latest album, A Valediction, crowd favorites like 2016’s “Akróasis,” 2018’s “Emergent Evolution,” and a throwback with “The Anticosmic Overload” off their debut album, Cosmogenesis. The crowd remained fervent in their participation and moshing duties, even so far as a guy cleaning up spilled beer in the pit at one point, saving many backs and limbs alike. The highlight of the night came before they played their last song, the undeniably epic “When Stars Collide,” guitarist/vocalist Steffen Kummerer quipped, “This is the fanciest pizza establishment we’ve ever played at!” To which someone in the crowd responded, “It’s probably the only one you’ve ever played at!” What the fancy pizza establishment lacked in size and space, the bands and crowd made up for it with mutual passion and excitement. Like the versatility of pizza, these death metal bands all have the same foundation (crust), but each band has different soundscapes (toppings) that present a uniquely exquisite flavor surely to delight any metalhead who attends this tour. By the way, Interloper would definitely have pineapple on their pizza, and that’s completely acceptable.
