OBLIVION

The Path Towards…

UNIQUE LEADER Box-ticking tech-death with bonus Eddie Happily for all concerned, the finest moment on Oblivion’s second album arrives when Suicide Silence frontman Eddie Hermida flexes his extraordinary throat on the crunchy, groovedriven Concrete Thrones. It’s a low-key cameo but a rare moment of distinctiveness midway through an amiable splurge of blasts, growls and moments of moderate virtuosity. The problem with The Path Towards… is that while it undeniably does the majority of the things you might politely suggest a technical death metal album should do, it doesn’t really do anything else. Given some of the other treasures currently twinkling in the Unique Leader shop window, not to mention some of the synapse-scorching insanity going on within the broader extreme tech scene right now, Oblivion are going to have to refine their identity and write more memorable songs if they want to stand out from their peers. FOR FANS OF: VADER, DECREPIT BIRTH, INTERNAL BLEEDING

DOM LAWSON