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Obscura is a technical death metal band from Landshut, Germany. The band became prominent when members of Necrophagist and Pestilence joined Steffen Kummerer to release the critically acclaimed second full length album, Cosmogenesis. Obscura are known for playing highly sophisticated music, with several band members having studied music theory.

Obscura's discography draws significant philosophical influences from Arthur Schopenhauer, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schelling, whose writings on Naturphilosophie formed the conceptual basis for their lyrics.

History

Obscura was founded in 2002 by Steffen Kummerer. The band was named after the Gorguts album Obscura. Finished in August 2004, Obscura self-released Retribution in 2006 and toured alongside Suffocation within Europe. In 2007, drummer Hannes Grossmann (ex-Necrophagist), fretless bassist Jeroen Paul Thesseling and guitarist Christian Muenzner (ex-Necrophagist) were recruited as new permanent members.

Cosmogenesis

In September 2008 Obscura signed with Relapse Records and released its second full-length album Cosmogenesis in early 2009. The album sold around 900 copies in the USA in its first week and debuted at number 71 on the Top New Artist Albums chart. The band started their first-ever North American tour as part of the Cosmogenesis Worldtour in April 2009 alongside Cannibal Corpse. Within one year the band played more than 160 shows all over the world as support for Atheist, the Black Dahlia Murder and Cannibal Corpse. Their first headliner tour was in the USA. Obscura toured Japan as support for Nile and Triptykon in 2010. On February 16, 2010, Obscura reissued their debut album Retribution remastered and repackaged with three bonus tracks. Obscura's official guitar tablature book for Cosmogenesis was released on January 5. Cosmogenesis was listed by Metal Storm as one the 100 most important death metal albums.

Omnivium

Obscura released Omnivium on March 29, 2011. The record was written over a period of two years, with members writing songs and sending them to each other over the internet. On a lyrical basis the album dealt with religion and the evolution of humankind, with Kummerer taking significant influence from Friedrich Schelling's “On Nature's Connection to the Spirit World” The album earned positive feedback around the world and entered US and German charts, selling 2,000 within the first week of release in the US. It debuted at number 11 on the USA's Top Heatseekers chart, and at number 14 on Germany's Media Control Newcomer chart.

The artwork for the album follows a specific color scheme as part of a four-album concept sequence. Orion Landau, who also published the artwork for the last two albums, was responsible for developing Kummerer's ideas for the cover art.

Thesseling left the band due to scheduling conflicts between Obscura and Pestilence. Later, Thesseling cited economic reasons and his age as being the motive for rejoining Pestilence.

Thesseling was replaced with Linus Klausenitzer of the progressive death metal band Noneuclid, the band making the announcement in September 2011. Obscura started the 164 concerts lasting Omnivium Worldtour in their home town Landshut, Germany, followed by a full European tour alongside Hate Eternal, Beneath the Massacre and Defiled. They also played a five-week tour supporting Children of Bodom and Devin Townsend within North America. On the August 10 the band announced their first southeast Asian headlining tour, performing in Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates. In November and December the same year a North American headlining tour followed, supported by Abysmal Dawn and Last Chance to Reason. In March–April 2012 the band headlined a European run with support by Spawn of Possession, Gorod and Exivious. To promote Omnivium, the band played a first headlining tour in Japan alongside Beneath the Massacre and Defiled in June 2012. In 2013 Obscura embarked on a European Tour alongside Death, with most of the shows sold out.

Illegimitation

In late 2011 Obscura started an online crowdfunding scheme to pay for the release of a combination of their first demo, demos from the Cosmogenesis sessions and three cover songs from the bands Death, Atheist and Cynic. Within 60 days the band generated $14,600 in fan donations, almost five times their financial target.

In celebration of their tenth year as a band, the band played a special anniversary show on the December 15, 2012, in Landshut, Germany, with support from Dark Fortress and Hokum. The show featured a reunion of the early members who recorded the first demo, Illegimitation. This show also marked the end of the Omnivium Worldtour. In March 2013, Obscura embarked on a European Tour supported by Aeon, Deadborn and Over Your Threshold.

Departure of Muenzner and Grossmann

In 2014, guitarist Christian Muenzner left the band due to creative differences and his inability to tour as a result of his focal dystonia muscle spasms. Additionally, Hanness Grossmann cited his own interests in forming a separate band and left the band at the same time Both Muenzner and Grossmann joined Florian Magnus Maier to form the band Alkaloid. Obscura then hired guitarist Tom Geldschläger and fusion drummer Sebastian Lanser of German jazz metal group Panzerballett.

Obscura was scheduled to tour the US with the new line up as apart of the 2015 Summer Slaughter Tour, but despite early applications for Visas were unable to perform.

Departure of Tom Geldschläger

In 2015, obscura announced the departure of their guitarist Tom Geldschläger after posting a teaser video of their upcoming album "Akróasis". The teaser shows no sign or credit to Tom's guitar work and even shows a different guitarist, Rafael Trujillo, at the end picture. Confusion from the fans influenced Obscura to post: ″We would like to say some words about all this misunderstanding. Tom Geldschläger was part of this album, and we are very thankful for his contributions. We didn’t mention him on the teaser, because we wanted to present our new guitarist (new song material, new artwork, new lineup), but of course he is mentioned & credited on the album as made public prior to announcing the new album.

The reasons for the split during the recordings of Akroasisin early July are hard to explain for someone who is not inside the band. There are different perspectives that you need to consider if you want to understand the situation. But we want to respect Tom‘s privacy so you won’t read anything personal by us nor will we start any public discussion. We love making music, not arguing and we wish him all the best in the future.

Thanks for your support, Linus Klausenitzer & Steffen Kummerer″.

Philosophy

Founding member Kummerer devises the bands lyricism and imagery himself. Obscura's lyrics focus mainly on the writings of famous German philosophers. In describing these lyrics, Kummerer states:

Cosmogenesis started with the beginning of our existence, the big bang theory if you want to say so, and deals with different layers and synonyms on a philosophical basis. The second, Omnivium, takes part of the evolution in many different layers such as the basic ape to human thought, religious topics, how the human individuals evolve within their existence and uses as basic theme the novel On Nature’s Connection to the Spirit World by Friedrich Schelling.

The band's second release, Cosmogenesis, presented their interest in philosophy, which Kummerer describes as being influenced by the works of both Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, with Omnivium showing a shift in interests, and being based solely on the work of German philosopher Friedrich Schelling.

Band members

Current members

• Steffen Kummerer – vocals, guitars (2002–present)
• Linus Klausenitzer – bass (2011–present)
• Rafael Trujillo – guitars (2015–present)
• Sebastian Lanser – drums (2014–present)

Former members

• Armin Seitz – guitars (2002–04)
• Martin Ketzer – bass, vocals (2002–04)
• Jonas Baumgartl – drums (2002–2007)
• Stephan Bergbauer – guitars (2004)
• Ernst "Azmo" Wurdak – bass (2004)
• Jürgen Zintz – guitars (2004–2005)
• Andreas "Hank" Nusko – bass (2004–05)
• Gerd Pleschgatternig – bass (2005)
• Markus Lempsch – guitars (2005–07)
• Jonas Fischer – bass (2005–07)
• Johannes Rennig – guitars (2007)
• Jeroen Paul Thesseling – bass (2007–11)
• Hannes Grossmann – drums (2007–14)
• Christian Muenzner – guitars (2008–14)
• Tom Geldschläger - guitars (2014-2015)

Touring members

• Seraph – drums (2007)
• Jacob Schmidt – bass (2009, 2010, 2011)
• Steve DiGiorgio – bass (2010)
• Linus Klausenitzer – bass (2011)

Timeline

Discography

Demos

• Illegimitation (2003)

Studio Albums

• Retribution (2004)
• Cosmogenesis (2009)
• Omnivium (2011)

Compilations

• Illegimitation (2012)

Books

• Cosmogenesis - Official tablature (2010)
• Omnivium - Official tablature (2012)
• Guitar Anthology - Official tablature (2015)

References

1. "Obscura". AllMusic. Retrieved 2010-01-19.
2. https://web.archive.org/web/20131216235642/http://www.decibelmagazine.com/magazine/pentagram-79-%E2%80%93-may-2011/obscura-2/
3. http://heavymetal.about.com/od/interviews/a/Obscura-Interview.htm
4. ^ http://blowthescene.com/interviews/obscura-interview.html
5. Burton, Brent. "Obscura". Decibel magazine. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
6. "Obscura Joined By Former Necrophagist Guitarist". blabbermouth.com. 2008-01-22. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
7. "Obscura Signs with Relapse Records". blabbermouth.com. 2008-09-12. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
8. http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/obscura-cosmogenesis-first-week-u-s-sales-revealed/
9. http://www.metalstorm.net/bands/albums_top.php?album_style=Death
10. ^ http://www.metalunderground.com/interviews/details.cfm?newsid=66151
11. http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/obscura-omnivium-first-week-sales-revealed/
12. Obscura's Omnivium Debuts On Billboard Heatseekers Chart bravewords.com. 2011-04-11. Retrieved on 2011-08-11.
13. Obscura: 'Omnivium' Enters German Media Control Newcomers Chart psychozine.eu. Retrieved on 2011-08-11.
14. http://www.notreble.com/buzz/2011/11/17/ultra-low-an-interview-with-jeroen-paul-thesseling/
15. http://www.metalsucks.net/2014/07/11/guitarist-christian-muenzner-drummer-hannes-grossmann-quit-obscura/
16. http://www.metalsucks.net/2014/07/11/guitarist-christian-muenzner-drummer-hannes-grossmann-quit-obscura/
17. https://www.realmofobscura.com/
18. http://www.metalinjection.net/latest-news/obscura-quietly-replaced-its-new-guitarist-already

External links

• Official Obscura Home Page
• Obscura at Relapse Records

• German technical death metal musical groups
• Relapse Records artists
• Musical groups established in 2002
• Musical quartets
• 2002 establishments in Germany