Oshiego - The Great Architect of Nothing (2013)

Singapore's Oshiego has straddled the border between death and thrash metal for years now, never fully committing to either field, so it's no surprise that their sophomore album The Great Architect of Nothing continues this practice. Granted, thanks to the vocals here, the emphasis is slightly stronger on the former genre than the latter, but there are still plenty enough palm-muted breaks moving at a late 80s moshing clip to generate that age-old headbanging excitement which never really grows tired. More importantly, they season in a lot of techniques here that reveal a broader array of influences than even the last album, and thus there's this constant sense of surprise and unpredictability to this disc which helps maintain a listener's attention span. I'm not saying it's stuffed to the gills with memorable riffs or timeless songwriting, but there's a fire and enthusiasm about the band that feels fresh, even where derivative. Varied yet consistent, brutal in a simplistic way.

The trio will entreat the audience to churning tremolo picked rhythms that hearken back to the age of records like Death's Scream Bloody Gore and Leprosy, yet they also incorporate a lot of squeals and sweeps and other techniques that are associated more with the turn towards technical brutality that death metal took in the 90s. Minimalistic, chugging mid-paced thrash riffs are used in both the verse rhythms and breakdowns, and it helps a lot that the guitars have this bludgeoning, deep production about them felt propelled largely through the mutes, but really I'm just happy that, no matter how basic the patterns feel, they aren't repeated endlessly unto metalcore boredom. There are brief flashes of exciting leads throughout, without much of a structure or sense of indulgence, and I wouldn't have minded more extensive soloing or an added depth of melody to offset the gut-busting low end that dominates the disc, but they do occur uncommonly. As for the pacing throughout, it's very evenly distributed through medium and faster material, diverse riffing architecture that does help distinguish a number of individual tracks without breaking the sum flow and flexibility of the record. The drums are a little boxy in the mix, and the bass doesn't always have a potent presence (though you can hear a few decent fills or grooves down there), but the blasting and fills are pretty intense and the percussive effect of the rhythm section is indeed tight.

I do really, really enjoy the vocalist here, Umar Khan. He's got a great, ghastly depth to his delivery that brings back memories of a Martin van Drunen, if a little more 'brutal' and not quite so charismatic. Snarls and additional growls are occasionally used to add some zest to his performance, but none are required, for even if the guy doesn't have a lot of range or tricks, the guttural just doesn't get old, and I was totally feeling some nostalgia for the later 80s/early 90s when most front men in this field were quite distinguishable from one another. It's not just your run-of-the-mill droning delivery you get out of a lot of faceless modern death, but something more intestine-twisting and sincere. I was also a little surprised by the forceful grind aesthetics or d-beat death metal/hardcore open chord riffing that occasionally reared its head through the album, a pretty nice balance against the more morbid aesthetic of the tremolo and muted picking progressions. In the end, this shows a 'refinement' of Oshiego's sound, without abandoning that death/thrash crossover that gave them life. The cover of Vomitory's "The Voyage" (from their 1999 sophomore Redemption) was a nice addition, not only because they play it tightly, but because they do a lot to blend it in with their own material rather than just adopting the straight up Swedification of the original. 

The Great Architect of Nothing isn't strikingly sticky or mind-blowing, and I still think the leads could be tweaked to provide a more memorable higher end over the rhythmic beatdown, but it's got this sense of concussive confidence about it, sure to result in neck-strain, and definitely a more enjoyable set of tunes than Woe to the Conquered. Definitely one to check out for fans of early Pestilence, Asphyx, Assorted Heap, Cancer, Protector, and more recently an Intestine Baalism or Deadly Spawn, though the material isn't quite so infectiously as melodic as Baalism. Honest death/thrash with no fear of diversification.

Verdict: Win [7.25/10]

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Oshiego/112790763272

Oshiego - The Heretic Priests of Amon (2012)

The Heretic Priests of Amon is the followup to last year's Woe to the Conquered, the full-length debut of Singapore's Oshiego. Rather than dive headfirst into another complete album, the group has decided to ply the waters with a single-length release, so the reins here are held tight at three songs and under 15 minutes. That said, this is unquestionably a positive evolution for the band. Stylistically it resonates with the prior material, an urban mesh of death and thrash metal ingredients with a mildly Eastern flair to the note progressions, but a few of the nagging discrepancies and jagged edges of the 2011 album have been smoothed over, and the result is a more entertaining and consistent set of tunes that are fit for violent consumption.

Love the huge, chunky guitar tone on this thing, it lends a lot of power to even the simplest of riffing patterns, and in particular it sounds amazing on the grinding eruptions in the verses of "Blade of the Conqueror". The higher pitched snarled vocals are still present, but the gutturals reign supreme here, and that's a good thing, because this guy's voice makes me wanna punch the fucking newspaper boy. Broad, fulfilling, and carries very well over the busier lattice of riffing. Lots of dynamics here too, from brief blasts to mid-paced clinical thrashers, tremolo picked melodies, well-fashioned lead sequences, you name it. Most importantly, the breakdowns throughout this material are far better plotted than those of Woe to the Conquered: Oshiego is always threading some slightly exotic sense of melody through or above the mosh-chop. As someone with a worldly, adventurous taste in music, but who has largely remained confined to North America in his travels (my own fault), I really appreciate getting a sense of a band's place in this world, especially a place far away from mine. Oshiego could certainly spice up this aspect of their sound further, but as it stands, their sense for explosive thrashing is excellent.

Everything is on point here, from the enthusiastic drumming to the ample bass tone (which even gets a bit funky in "Legions of the Nemesis"). It's hardly the most polished production you're like to hear, but instead fresh and bludgeoning. Try and imagine aggressive 80s thrash from bands like Sepultura, Mortal Sin and Demolition Hammer, but with vocal cues taken from old death metal luminaries like Benton, Willetts or van Drunen. The use of occasional melodic death elements also reminds me of another Asian titan, the great Intestine Baalism, who had a lot going for them in their decision to eschew strict genre boundaries. The Heretic Priests of Amon might not be so brilliantly riffy as An Anatomy of Beast or Banquet in the Darkness, and it often feels a little cluttered as they lay out one smackdown after the next, but it scratches a similar itch. Nothing but honesty here, guys who love metal playing their hearts out, never forgetting the golden rule of these genres: you're only as good as your riffs. Make them count, and make them hurt. Oshiego does both, and we're all the richer for it.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10]

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Oshiego/112790763272

Oshiego - Woe to the Conquered (2011)

While Woe to the Conquered suffers in a few places from a choice of trite, uninteresting grooves, there's no question that these young Singaporeans bring a lot of violence and variation to the mediums of death and thrash that ultimately proves entertaining. Not in a very subtle sense, but with both fists before them beating everything that rises up against in opposition. Oshiego have essentially penned themselves into a hybrid of violent late 80s/early 90s thrash circa Demolition Hammer, Exhorder, or Sepultura and a slightly more modernized palette of death metal influences including but not limited to US forebears (Deicide, Malevolent Creation) or the brutal European legends Grave and Morgoth; yet they also manage to incorporate a regimen of driving, Eastern melodies.

Vocals here range from the Deicide textured guttural/snarl combo to the more contemporary brand of near porcine squealing and even a slightly sustained growl of the John Tardy variety where it suits the phrasing. The riffs tend towards the lower end of the fretboard, lavished in this meaty distorted crunch which definitely recalls a bit of that Morrisound tone, but even though I had some hesitation towards the production, they create a tense balance against the melodic clarity of the lead sequences. Drummer Fauzt is well versed in the blasting, grooves and double bass, having played in Impiety and a few more obscure acts in the years leading up to Oshiego. But perhaps the most surprising was the bassist, Ridhuan Syah, who is really given the chance to shine through hammering passages like the late bridge of "In Death, My Dominion" where he drives the simpler guitar chugging, or the intro to "The Absolute" where he creates an oddly funky foundation leading to the concrete grooves and exotic, glorious melody that ensue.

I enjoyed the brutal, almost surgical muted sequences in cuts like "Blood Omen" and "The Scion ov Balance", especially with the bass fluttering out beneath them, and I definitely think the band works well at tension created by the various tempos here. However, not all the transitions feel seamless, and many of the groove segments are patterned in rather predictable progressions that rarely seem to build to an incredibly memorable climax. That said, this shit must go off quite well at gigs when the crowd begins smashing limbs into one another. Oshiego might not have the practiced intensity of countrymen Impiety or Wormrot, or the more exotic cultural aesthetics implemented by Rudra, but they've definitely got a street level solidarity about the composition which pairs interestingly against the more arcane, sepulchral lyrics , and the level of instrumental proficiency here is higher that that produced by your average urban thrash core. Also the cover of Grave's "Into the Grave" is pretty spot on, a fitting and bloody fresh tribute. A decent album for when you just want to ball your fist and crush something (or someone).

Verdict: Win [7/10]

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Oshiego/112790763272