It’s still, epic, bombastic Orchestral/Symphonic (I’m not 100% sure if there is a difference and what it is) death metal in the vein of fellow Italians’ Fleshgod Apocalypse and to these ears, Argentina’s Mortuorial Eclipse. The band has kept the exact sound (having all returning members helps) from the debut album, as this way too short, 4-song, 15-minute, Aleister Crowley-themed EP sounds virtually identical to the debut. But as you’d expect/hope, the band has improved a little in the 3-year gap, with 4 excellent songs that have mid-era Behemoth death metal heft and massive symphonic elements.

Opener and EP centerpiece “Ophidian’s Enthronement” starts things off with a bang with dramatic strings and choirs and a mid-paced stomp, before the song’s final few minutes deliver an absolutely stunning, epic bast beat backed with move score quality orchestration and choirs.

“The Divine Malice Conflagration” delivers stern, brass-heavy militant marches and blasts while the shorter “Enochian Abyss” has a choral bridge around 2 and half minutes in that’s simply glorious. The EP closes out with another short song “Hexed Katharsis”, a mostly mid-paced Middle Eastern bruiser that cements these guys as real up-and-comers in the genre with the potential to join fellow Italians Spiritual Deception and Fleshgod Apocalypse atop the heap.

Formed from the members of other obscure Italian melodic death metal/metalcore acts like  From the Shores, As Memory Dies, and Livyatan, Obscura Qalmah delivers an impressive debut that melds the hefty death metal stomps of mid-era Behemoth and the heavy orchestration of a Septicflesh etc. There are deep commanding bellows, some mid-range rasps, blast beats, some very nice militant marches, and lots and lots of dramatic orchestration and choral elements that all come together for a bombastic album that gets better as it gets going.

After the requisite intro “Demise of Sun” the real opener “Impure Black Enlightenment” hammers away with immediate urgency and lets you know what the 40 minutes or so is going to deliver. “Gemini” delivers steadier, mid-paced lumber mixed with more pure blackened Dimmu Borgir theatrics and brass explosions that are pretty rousing. And it all has a very slight Middle Eastern sway lurking underneath all the bombast. But as I said, the album seems to get better. After a couple of decent songs in the album’s midsection, (“The Forbidden Pantheon”, “Transcending the Sefirot”), the album really starts to hit its stride with “Paradise Lost” which has a downright epic ending climax, which shows these guys can do when they hit their stride.  “Fleshbound” and ” The Telemachus Complex” might be my personal favorites as they have nice big orchestral stomps, especially the latter. “Imperial Cult” continues the solid run of tracks with an urgent mix of burly blasts and beefy, dramatic lurches.  “Awaken a Shrine to Oblivion” ends the album on a more restrained almost industrial note, but hey it’s not the expected instrumental fade-out/ close trope.

Obscura Qalmah is a pleasant surprise from a  group of relatively unknown metalcore/melo-death guys and Apotheosis is a bit of a departure for Rising Nemesis, known more for their stable of brutal death metal, but a departure that’s very impressive and a very nice addition to the label, and a band that is firmly on my radar even if/when Mortuorial Eclipse delivers new material.