With A Sonication, Germany-based metal band Obscura launch the second of their trilogy concept. The group’s second (seventh overall) album for Nuclear Blast pivots on many fronts. Advanced, elegant, and yet refreshing, „A Sonication“ sums up past endeavors effortlessly as it gazes with purpose and conviction into the future. Obscura are fan-renowned and critically acclaimed for challenging and then expanding upon norms. From Retribution (2004) through A Valediction (2021), the band flourished and made significant progress in a musical genre unprepared for a creative shot of German invention. „A Sonication“ spearheads Obscura into a new era of extreme metal.

Guitarist/vocalist Steffen Kummerer founded Obscura in 2002. Early on, he set out to improve, redefine, and push forward. Under his self-label creation, the Bavarian released debut album Retribution (2004), followed by heavy touring throughout Europe. Word quickly spread that a brand-new band from the south of Germany was on the rise. Buzz lead to a deal with U.S.-based Relapse Records. The first record out was Cosmogenesis. In Europe, Metal Hammer Germany awarded the album 6/7 while in the U.S. Cosmogenesis hit the Billboard charts at #71. The cross-continental praise and fevered momentum landed Obscura on high-profile tours in Europe, North America, and Japan.

When follow-up Omnivium arrived in 2011, they upped their chart success (Billboard #11; Media Control #14), received more accolades from publications like Terrorizer, Rock Hard, and Decibel, had another massive round-world tour cycle, while enhancing and making progress on their clever brutality. Obscura further developed their sound on Akróasis (2016). Moored by jaw-dropping tracks like “Sermon of the Seven Suns,” “Ode to the Sun,” and the title track, Akróasis elevated Obscura to the highest levels of international renown, having climbed up the Billboard charts (#5) as well as earning top marks in Rock Hard (8.5/10), Metal Hammer Germany (6/7), and Revolver (4/5). The Germans toured the world yet again, playing over 100 shows in support of Akróasis.

Obscura’s most significant accomplishment was, however, just around the corner. The final part of a tetralogy, Diluvium (2018), fiercely pursued Obscura’s multi-album transformation into musical innovators and metal powerhouses. Music videos for the title track, “Emergent Evolution” and “Mortification of the Vulgar Sun,” in concert with a substantial interest in virtuosic, forward-thinking metal, posited Obscura in the good graces (yet again) of the worldwide press in addition to rocketing up, for the very first time, the official album charts in Germany (#58) and Switzerland (#93). The Germans also topped out at #3 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart with Diluvium.

A turning point in the career of the Germans manifested with the first release for the biggest independent metal label on the planet, Nuclear Blast Records. „A Valediction“ granted the band worldwide success, topping their previous albums in a heartbeat, and saw the band climbing higher chart positions worldwide. With epic opening track „Forsaken“, technical-through the roof „Solaris“ and the catchy, melodic and yet accessible title track, „A Valediction“ established the group as outstanding and energetic live act, to be proved by their first tour to cover South- and Central America, aside touring relentlessly throughout Europe, North America and Asia. 

Obscura’s stats have been impressive: Twenty-two years active; seven highly prized albums; over 800 shows on four continents. Worldwide fan and press engagement—the videos for “The Anticosmic Overload,” “Akróasis,” and “Diluvium” have over 5 million views—is only getting stronger the longer Obscura continue to offer up and interact with (via play-throughs and member/gear spotlights) their very captive audience. This is only the tip of Kummerer’s custom ESP guitar, however. A Sonication finds Obscura turning the page to a new chapter in the band’s evolution. A year in the works, the songwriting sessions followed a new approach, where the framework was relaxed, allowing new inspirations, imagining, and opportunities to arise. Songs like the opening hit “Silver Linings,” the groove oriented “Evenfall”, the brutal groove of “The Sun Eater” the bitter-sweet fragility of “Stardust,” and the melancholic while melodic title track benefitted compositionally and aesthetically from Obscura’s restyled songwriting stratagem.

Obscura wrote, recorded, and finalised „A Sonication“ during the world wide touring activities in support of their previous album. Once the instruments were completed and tracked, the recordings were shipped off to award-winning producer Fredrik Nordström and Studio Fredman (In Flames, Bring Me The Horizon, Architects) in Gothenburg, Sweden, where Kummerer completed vocals and acoustic guitars using custom-built ENGL amps. Nordström was also tapped to mix and master. The final result is a wide, heavier, yet more bright production.

Lyrically, „A Sonication“ is layered in structure and meaning. The word ‘sonication,’ by definition, is defined as the process in which sound waves are used to agitate the particles in the solutions.  In a rather poetic way, interpretations are widely bright from a rational physical point of view, spanning up to a philosophic angle, while each composition manifests a sole episode of Kummerer’s personal life. Connected to the previous album „A Valediction“, the new epos becomes the logical follow up in the trilogy started in 2021. Lauded artist Eliran Kantor (Testament, Kreator, Hatebreed) was brought on board to visualize the leitmotif. The silver-themed color Kantor used exemplifies Obscura’s timeless art from to music and visuals.

In 2025, Obscura will lighthouse their musical prowess, thematic complexity, and lyrical ambition on „A Sonication“. The group continue to be a beacon for change. No doubt Obscura’s new stats will amaze, but what they’re focused on is the release of „A Sonication“ and then taking it on the road. Several high-caliber tours of Europe, North America, and Asia are planned through to 2025, with routes are in the works for the band to visit Australia, Latin America, and beyond. Truly, there is no band quite like Obscura. "A Sonication“ proves that persistence, perseverance, and enterprising minds can achieve anything. Welcome to the next level!

Whilst not commonly known as an extraterrestrial hotspot, Leeds (United Kingdom) faced an encounter of another kind, as 2015 saw Xander Bradley (Vocals/Guitar) and Ryan Sheperson (Drums) set out to accomplish a project embodying their joint passion for the art of science fiction and heavy metal music. With CRYPTIC SHIFT taking form as a crossover between the worlds of Technical Thrash / Death Metal and all things Sci-Fi, the two set out to spread their influence across the UK, and soon venturing across the globe. After steady lineup refinement, the pair finally found themselves other like-minded musicians within the UK scene, adding John Riley (Bass Guitar), releasing Cryptic Shift's debut EP 'Beyond the Celestial Realms' (2016). Later joined by Joe Bradley (Guitar), Cryptic Shift set targets on their first debut full-length record, 'Visitations from Enceladus' (2020).

'Visitations from Enceladus' brought the sci-fi thrashing death squad to the worldwide playing-field, receiving critical acclaim for its adventurous, progressive technical death thrash compositions, a twisted form of Extreme Metal simply referred to as the "Phenomenal Technological Astrodeath", including 25-minute epic 'Moonbelt Immolator' - scoring the band success upon Planet Earth with live appearances in the UK, Europe and Australian territories, touring with bands such as Bedsore, VoiVod, Cattle Decapitation, Incantation, and appearing at festivals such as Killtown Deathfest, UK Deathfest, Incineration, Damnation, ArcTanGent, and Melbourne's Into the Fall. Not only was the world introduced to Cryptic Shift's music, but also the first instalment of their unique, concept storytelling explored within the record's lyrical passages. With guitarist Joe Bradley leaving the quartet, and soon after replaced by Joss Farrington (Guitar), the current lineup of Cryptic Shiftsigned with Metal Blade Records and began to craft their second full length attack, 'Overspace & Supertime'.

Continuing on from the conceptual and musical themes from their debut record, 'Overspace & Supertime' sets out to blast away Extreme Metal fans with a new standard of Technical Thrash/Death Metal showmanship, including returning influences of progressive writing, harmonised with their fantastical storytelling. "The concept of Overspace & Supertime plays as an alternative reality to the happenings of Visitations from Enceladus, taking our character into new dimensions filled with both greater adventures and more bizarre encounters" states drummer Ryan Sheperson, "whilst the concept themes of our sci-fi tale has grown, so have our efforts in synthesising it with the ultimate Astrodeath soundscape. The record sets out to achieve a new standard of musicianship across the band and takes the listener on a deeper journey through the fusion of our influences in the Thrash/Death Metal style, with some exciting twists and turns along the way". Join Cryptic Shift on their mission beyond our comprehensive solar system with the release of 'Overspace & Supertime', coming to Earth on February 27th 2026 via Metal Blade Records.

Introducing DVRK, a powerhouse fusion of Deathcore, Nu Metal, and Bass music elements.
Formed in 2019 as a solo project, DVRK has evolved into a dynamic ensemble featuring Peter Morgan on vocals, Bastien Deleule and Gérald Audiard on guitars, Fabien Letren on bass, and Vincent Vidal on drums.
Notable achievements include collaborations with artists like Conquer Divide, Cove Reber, Chunk No Captain Chunk, and Hyro The Hero.

DVRK proudly signed their first EP with Season Of Mist, marking a significant milestone in their musical journey.