Obscurus Advocam ‎"Verbia Daemonicus" CD

Obscurus Advocam ‎– Verbia Daemonicus (2007 Battle Kommand Records BKR014 / Southern Lord SUNN 68.5) the first and only release from this black metal duo comprising of Antarès (Temple Of Baal, Glorior Belli) and Julien Granger (Mur, Four Question Marks). It's not super weighed-down with the atmospheric stuff but it's definitely not just straight black metal. Great album.

Obscurus Advocam are a little known band from France that play proficient black metal. They have a member of Glorior Belli and an ex-member as well, so expect a bit of Watian worship... but what better band to have as an influence?
Many of the guitar riffs and vocals remind me a bit of Watain, however I also hear a bit of Dawn (Swe.) influence. Being a huge fan of both of these bands, I find this to be a great combo, though not very original. They do have a tendency to drone though and very well, reminicent of Ondskapt's first full length... this keeps things moody and almost meloncholy sounding. Guitar riffs are generally long with fairly predictable timing, but in my opinion, the drums on this release really keep things interesting... blasting, midpaced, slow, even some rockin' moments, this guy can do it all. Like many of the "darker" French bands, the bass is audible, played well and has a very nice tone. As I mentioned before, the vocals remind one of Watain, though a little lower in pitch, with an almost echoey sound to them, not too shabby but nothing great. I really enjoy the guitar riffs on this album, they, like the drums, are played at many different tempos, even clean occasionally. The distortion is perfect on the guitar and every note is easily heard. In fact, all instruments can be heard quite clearly, the production on this album is another good point... everything clear and audible, but still it has a dark murky feel to it.
All in all, a very enjoyable album, every song has moments of (almost) black metal perfection and most of the songs are quite memorable... I'll be spinning this disc for a quite while and i'm certainly going to keep an eye out for future releases from Obscurus Advocam. Definitely recommended for fans of the aforementioned bands but also for Deathspell Omega and Nachtmystium fans as well, get this if you can find it.

Sample: