Esens, Germany. Nestled at whatever-end of Lower Saxony, where the East Frisian Islands form a barrier against the wailing North Sea, the town of 7,000 has slept the years away. Most people haven’t heard of Esens, once home to Baroque composer Philipp Heinrich Erlebach. But if they have, they’ve often confused it with Essen, Germany’s ninth largest city. Well, that’s about to change. Not the confusing part, but the fact that rising death metal stars NAILED TO OBSCURITY are about to put Esens on the proverbial map with new album, »Black Frost«, their first for Nuclear Blast Records.

 

Songs like 'Tears Of The Eyeless,' 'The Aberrant Host,' 'Road To Perdition,' and the magnificent title track were part of NAILED TO OBSCURITY’s weekend forays into the depths of melodic death metal (and beyond). The frantic pace at which »Black Frost« was written, however, didn’t impact the quality of songcraft. Whereas »King Delusion« focused on the pairing of savagery and melody, »Black Frost« changes up the formula. Call it maturity or desire to present ideas differently, NAILED TO OBSCURITY’s new songs churn, swirl, and coalesce around and into Ennenga’s engaging if cloudy psychosocial lyrics. They have presence. They’re empowered by Lamberti and Dieken’s soaring lead-riffs, melancholic dissonance, and careful introspection, but come to life after Hillrichs, Schorn, and Ennenga - whose growl is a must-hear - come into play. Clearly, »Black Frost« is something special