Ne Obliviscaris – Portal of I

Ne Obliviscaris (aka “Lest We Forget” in Latin) come from Australia and ladies and gentlemen, these guys are the most exciting band that has come to surface straight from the international underground progressive metal scene the last two years.

I was unaware of their “Aurora Veil EP” that came out in 2007 which is not something many people would have attented to as well. Although, there was already a big growing fan-base circling their efforts, and was building up significant hype for the release of “Portal of I” five years later.As for myself it wasn’t until right before the album was released, that I first listened to their music which absolutely blew me away!!!

One of the first things I pointed out about this album is the usage of violin. Progressive extreme metal with the glimpse of a classical organ with leader characteristics? What a brilliant idea and what guts did they have to take their chance for trying something so different within the restricted metalhead’s mind. I mean there are many bands using other classical organs or quartets or whatever but here the violin sounds as another main instrument so heavily used that you can not leave it unnoticed. It offers a unique flavor to their music being crafted and allows them to be much more diverse than what they would have without it.

As for the rest of their music, you should keep in mind, this is still an extremely technical release, with fast riffs, blistering solos, and ever-changing time signatures. Progressive metal at its best.

The clean vocals, while perhaps not outstanding on a technical level are still a delight to hear and help to accentuate the mood of each song alongside the impressive growling. Each member’s performance is strong throughout the whole album and all members deliver a superb effort to keep the listener engaged in the world they have created.Overall, this is an excellent first long playing release for these up-and-growing progressive extreme metallers from Australia, and I’m almost certain that band will keep every progressive metal listener who respects himself as a listener to wait for their next release!!!

“Portal of I” is without doubt one of the most unique albums that I have heard the past 2 years from a genre that has many good bands but very few can be so strong to survive..
Ne Obliviscaris congratulations for your debut, we can’t wait your next step, the extreme progressive throne is empty…show us you deserve it and it’s all yours!!!