OUBLIETTE is a black metal band from Murfreesboro, Tennessee who formed in 2011. “Eternity Whispers,” is their third full length album. As I mentioned in my review of the latest WYNDRIDER album, I find it incredible that metal of such high quality can be found in Tennessee, where I'm also from. We aren't just country music! Of course, this shouldn't be a surprise considering other TN acts such as HOWLING GIANT, and BRODEQUIN have also released badass albums recently as well. That isn't even to mention that OUBLIETTE's label, The Artisan Era, is based in the state as well.

I reviewed OUBLIETTE's previous album, “The Passage” back in 2018 and to this day it remains one of my favorite albums I have ever reviewed, out of the literal hundreds I have written about. So how does “Eternity Whispers” compare? Is it worth the wait? Does it have the potential staying power? It is definitely worth the wait. The same expert songwriting and performance is just as good, if not better. The songs are extreme but smartly constricted where they stick in the head for days without being mainstream or overly catchy. The band's ability to meld rigid and raw-ish black metal with depth summoned from the black by harmonies and melodies is nearly unmatched in the modern scene.

Comparatively, the band's core sound remains intact. The music is built upon a blackened base that it naturally unfurls from. This time, the production isn't quite as raw as “The Passage,” but it definitely isn't clean. The vocals are still ghastly, dying gasps that claw for the living like some sort of soul collecting monster. Simply put, I'd put Emily Low's vocals against anyone in the genre. Musically, I find this album to be much more melodic. With that being said, it doesn't take away from their haunting and atmospheric sound. If anything, the focus on melody covers the music in a new found sorrow, that's every bit as regal as it is misanthropic. Ultimately, the album's overall sound is mordant and erosive, retaining the underground of black metal and its abrasive convictions.

Spencer Moore and Cole Gerdeman, bass and drums respectively, both go a long way in keeping the rhythm intact. Synthesizers and Mandolin are some of the more unconventional elements used on the album (to wonderful effect) so it's great the two musicians provide such a solid rhythm section and low end to keep it all grounded. Mike Low, Andrew Wampler, and Chris Austin are perhaps the MVP of the album, such is their magic of weaving the bleak, radiance, corrosive, mellifluous music and energy that forms the backbone of their music, so deep and rich that it absolutely needs all three of them.

The album opens with “Primordial Echo,” and quiet clean tones. Around the 50 second mark, rumbling drums and guitars collide as melodies swirl together. With a minute the song is full and encompassing. The vocals are fantastic and help drive their dark tales—they always fit in with music regardless of the direction the band takes. The harmonious mid-section births out from the heavier handed approach of the song’s first half with ease. The bass and drums, as always, command a fantastic presence that keeps the music in the undertow even at its most melodic and adventurous.

The band is, first and foremost, one that surrenders to the sounds of the night. It doesn't matter how atmospheric or expansive the album becomes, the band is still grinding out extremity. Like a lost echo from an unfathomable cavern, “Consumed By The Void,” thunders out with beefy double base and rapid guitar. The guitars and vocals pair well, snaking through the brush as the snake stalks the mouse. The underlying danger of the song reveals a darkly beautiful composition. The layers of guitars crash against the vocals and drums as the rise action builds up around the 3:20 mark. The album makes perfect use of each song having a climatic hook, using their prowess as songwriters to make the extreme memorable.

Tragic and beautiful is the best way I can describe the excellent “Dreams Of Nevermore,” a song with a smooth flow, as if it is indeed a dream that passes you by as you are on the outside looking in at your own conscience. From the 3:22 mark all the way to the end is one of the best moments on the album. The soundscapes are lush, not hiding among the grim countenance but, instead, embracing it and pushing the music to another world. The final track, “Vainish,” is subtle in ways, particularly how it presents its more atmospheric textures. The tempo is harrowing and constantly pushing forward, a motion of blackened aggression that tears up the forest even as the band’s brand of melancholic enthusiasm refills the gaps with plenty of rich notes.

All in all, OUBLIETTE’s “Eternity Whispers,” may take a slightly different approach but it’s more like a different path down the same horror filled grove. This album is every bit as engaging and commanding as their other music. This one will definitely be around for years to come!