So, I'm kicking off the new year here at Metal Temple with a review of one of my most anticipated albums of the year - what a great way to start. NAILED TO OBSCURITY are from a tiny coastal town in northern Germany, but they are well on their way to becoming one of the big names in Melodic Doom/Death Metal. Since the release of their last album "King Delusion," they have signed a contract with Nuclear Blast and are currently on a European tour with AMORPHIS, SOILWORK, and JINJER. This band has a very tasteful take on Melodic Doom/Death: the songs are rather accessible, quite tight in terms of structure - something in the vein of KATATONIA or circa 2010 PARADISE LOST -, the songs have big, memorable hooks and although the melodies are often soft and melancholic, they don't overshadow the Death Metal elements. It's basically like if OPETH had a baby with KATATONIA - and what a feast for my ears that is.

Title song "Black Frost" starts with tension building drumming and clean singing before the heavy yet melodic riff and growled vocals come in. It has such a driving melody and the delivery has such a punch that I'm immediately captivated. "Tears of the Eyeless" opens with a heavy groove that sounds like it was pulled straight out of an OPETH album. The verse is full of a soothing melancholy and is followed by a heavy, memorable chorus. The verse of "Feardom" has a sinister, ominous vibe, but in the chorus one gets a strange sense of release - it is a dark, brooding tune, but at the same time it somehow it feels almost relaxing. "Cipher" is the longest song on "Black Frost" and it is also compositionally more expansive - at first it shifts between harsh and mellow but there is a compositional shift in the last third. "Resonance", the shortest number on the album, has those simple, heavy grooves reminds me of PARADISE LOST in their more Gothic Rock phase. After this lighter song comes the closer "Road to Perdition" that has some really massive riffs - the album surely goes out with a bang.

In summary: you can expect great songwriting, a massive sound and memorable hooks, rhythm and guitar work that is absolutely on point. The vocalist can pull of those clean, emotional parts with the same force as he can deliver his death growls (he has a quite forceful, "barking" kind of delivery). I won't bang on about how good this album is - if you like any of the bands that I've name-dropped in the review, you absolutely have to check this out.