There is no hat-trick, no melting away of sub-genre constructs, no obscurant magickry assembled on Saint Petersburg, Russia-based death metal quartet PYRE‘s third full-length album beyond their command that we sit staring into the eyes of death and madness ’til we’ve fully felt the downward pull of life’s torment. Through their vortex of hands and eyes all sickness, human cruelty and decay builds ‘Where Obscurity Sways‘ into prime ‘old school’ death metal monument, an authentic addition to the (true) legion. By once again expertly wielding auld weaponry into their own twisted mirror upon our collectively doomed reality these profound-yet-traditional wares once again thrill in their looming-large state, a reminder of their station as a superior act among thousands.

Pyre formed as a quartet circa 2011 and it was no fluke that all of their material has been insanely good from their point of inception as vocalist/bassist Dym Nox (Likferd, ex-Internal Damage) and twin brother guitarist Roman Rotten (Neva, Blazing Rust) were involved in their local black metal scene from the start of the 2000’s (see: Ulvdalir, Drama) alongside the rest of the original quartet who’d all experience in death, black, and thrash metal related bands for years. That is to say their proficiency in injecting violent life into the Swedish death metal/HM-2 buzzed league stood out for its outrageous brutality and straight forward approach via their first 12″ EP (‘Ravenous Decease‘, 2012) setting their name next to at a time when bands like Maim, Morbus Chron and Horrendous (among many others) were carrying the old Swedeath sound onto another generation as well as a peak era for ‘old school’ appreciation rather than today’s greying bastardization en masse.

As it turns out these folks had plans for that sound, refining their attack for a debut LP (‘Human Hecatomb‘, 2014) where shades of Nihilist and early Entombed were still key but the fumes of Pestilence‘s (and Morgoth for that matter too) thrashing start contributed to one of the finest albums released in that vein. At that point it made great sense that they were doing split releases with bands like Entrapment and Interment as those were legendary groups were fitting accompaniment for a band focused on an ancient and raw death metal sound. I went on about that first record when it was reissued in 2018 (and has been reissued again since) in review and I was even more stoked on their sound when they’d finally returned for ‘Chained to Ossuaries‘ in 2020. That second LP had a different stink on it, a rotten old school sound that leaned into its thrashing madness and morbid themes/presentation which’d reviewed well with me, noting the much stronger guitar tone and Repugnant-esque blitz of their attack alongside prime classics-era sounds ah via Autopsy and such. That was their volcano, their nuke upon the world and still a mind-boggling display of both songcraft and death metal’s innards being honed into more than a mélange of bruised, second hand ideals.

From my point of view ‘Where Obscurity Sways‘ had a huge uphill battle arriving five years beyond ‘Chained to Ossuaries‘ and not only because it sounds fairly different in most regards but for the sake of digesting their previous work for ~four years and piling on anticipation for what’d call from their beyond next. We had a hint, though, via the digital demo/single “Pestilential Fumes” (2023) which provided a window into the depths of the album as you’ll find it in polished-up form near the end of Side B. The style of that piece was decidedly heady, mid-paced and recalled the more exhausted shotgunned pieces from Asphyx‘ ‘The Rack‘. Again, a very good omen but also another different sound despite that version of the song being pre-production, not suggesting any sense of the final render; We can also at least consider that the band is Russian, eh, and when they’d signed with Osmose for this album in 2022 that same year their immediate economy essentially collapsed to record lows during the ongoing conflict with Ukraine. To have managed an album at all is impressive…

…but to have put together a work as supreme in its accost is insane considering the circumstances. In fact there are no concessions given here when I say that Pyre have only added to their reputation with ‘Where Obscurity Sways‘, a next-level trip taken in both their traditional death metal craft and in the crystal clear blazon of its production values. Granted it might seem absurd to praise the production values of an ‘old school’ death metal band who’ve always aimed for underground rawness, rugged diabolism at the very least but the crispness on offer here does not take us out of time and place in this sense, only lubricates the careening fall from a high place depicted. This higher fidelity was evident from the first stab into the title track/opener (“Where Obscurity Sways”) and its ‘Arise‘-era thrashing intro, there we get a sense of the pace and energy they’re bringing here up front which is tempered and direct in carrying the simple progression of its main verse riff into increasing fervor.

“From the Stygian Depths” is the loudest argument made for a cleaner, heavier and mid-tempo haul from Pyre‘s mind palace, a sort of Asphyx or even (earlier) Mercyless type of dive into their opening groove that hits a melodic lead or two right out of the gates before continuing to lumber along, the build of the piece is brief but it’d quickly proven ear-worming in my case. They repeat the success of this track in various feature throughout ‘Where Obscurity Sways‘, the prime intensification of it being “Writhing Souls” for my own taste as new drummer Oleg Malleus (Void Monuments) leans into the double-bass drumming roll of the piece, extending an easier groove into a number of menacing turns; In terms of the aforementioned use of melodic lead guitar work “Domains of the Nameless Rites” kind of pulls a classic early Dismember-era stance not only for its strong rhythmic voice but for the focused and quickly scrawling solos that crack off throughout its first half. As a whole the proverbial “first act” here between the first four or so songs is one of violent tension, building a case for a mid-paced death metal album in the best tradition.

“Murderous Transcendence” is the big feature here, the main single and music video etc., and does a fine job of pivoting towards an even more distinct Van Drunen-esque vocal tone circa ‘Consuming Impulse‘. This was the point of passage per my experience with the full listen, I was already convinced well enough by some of the earlier songs on this album but they hit a pocket of interest mid-album and hold onto that momentum deep into Side B. What they do to cross the threshold with that momentum ends up being my favorite part of the album as the whole of the second half is maybe faster, more aggressive than the first and brings the broader spectrum of Pyre‘s ideation into view. Simple as the walking step and slower-burning lean of “Pestilential Fumes” is, it’d serve as a best representative piece in terms of maintaining the cryptic, demented spiritus of ‘old school’ death metal without falling upon today’s trend of lowest-common denominator generica from the insincere, masquerading class. This work bears the same genuine read that’d highlighted each of their previous records and manages to convey their own signature points of interest with a different guitar sound and illuminated production values.

While some listeners might struggle to focus on this genuine article without paint-by-numbers riffs and hip-hop derived beats anywhere to be heard most any ‘old school’ death metal enthusiast worth their salt will recognize the goods on display here. Pyre‘ve not escaped their vital position in the death metal underground but reinforced their above-average grasp of classicist forms with another exceptional full-length album. If I had to peck at some of the smaller details it’d definitely taken me some extra time to appreciate the album art, almost a demented backpatch design or a leather jacket painting (via Mosa Eye), as it is an unorthodox in some sense but also abstract enough to feel in line with past releases. Otherwise I don’t believe a higher level of polished production values has hurt the result in any sense, this is a prime point of advance for the band as much as it is a characteristic release which comes from an obvious passion for classic death metal. A very high recommendation.

https://osmoseproductions.bandcamp.com/album/where-obscurity-sways

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