The latest installment entitled Death Obsession is in fact the final work from USBM act Brown Jenkins. After a couple of self-released demos and two full length albums issued on Moribund Cult, Death Obsession marks the end of the road for this underground act as sole member Umesh Amtey has moved on to start a new band project called The Ash Eaters.
On the previous two Brown Jenkins albums the focus was primarily on layers of distorted guitars with little or no bottom end, coupled with frequent tempo changes and the low guttural vocals of a man possessed. In this reviewers opinion the first album Dagonite was the stronger of the two as its incredibly repetitive and heavy attack lured the listener into an almost trancelike state. The follow up Angel Eyes, while offering a bit more variety, tended to be a rehash of the same ideas. So where does Death Obsession fit in? Well for starters I've come to the conclusion that some time away from this unique brand of bleak and desolate black metal has not only been god for my health, it's also altered my perspective as well. This time around I found myself focusing on trying to dig a little deeper into the music in order to hear what was really going on beneath the massive sheets of high frequency guitar work, and I have to say I was surprised at the results. On the surface these seven epic compositions appear to be nothing more than lengthy excursions specializing in a dizzying amount of dissonant guitars designed to drive the listener insane, which is partly true. However, after really 'listening' to each track I found there to be a lot more going on underneath these pile driving, distorted riffs. There's a significant amount of variety and intricate guitar playing going on below these densely layered levels of chaos, you just have to look for it.
At just a shade over an hour Death Obsession might be a lot to handle all the way through in one sitting. That being said I challenge you to find tracks that will totally suffocate and engulf your very being as "Ashes In Her Mouth", "Hopeless, Godlike" and the closing track "We Disappear" will. Death Obsession is a fitting way to close the circle on the Brown Jenkins chapter. My feeling is that the full effect of this at times compelling trilogy of dense, atmospheric black / doom metal probably won't be felt or even appreciated for quite awhile, because after reviewing all three of the Brown Jenkins albums I'm not sure I completely understand or have fully digested all the little intricacies and nuances found within the music. Now I could be wrong but I believe they call that being ahead of your time.
Track Listing
1) Breathless
2) Ashes in Her Mouth
3) Lifetaker
4) Lords of Suicide
5) Hopeless, Godlike
6) Bluebird
7) We Disappear
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