Review by JD on August 22, 2010.

Metal from the Canadian Maritimes province of Nova Scotia surprised me. You expect music like Celtic tinged jigs and all of those sea ferrying type of songs that have been around for generations of sailors but getting some big time Brutal Death Metal was something else? It is a surprise, yes, but a good surprise to have unleashed on me.

Mixing the very heart fire and fury of Death Metal with this darker feeling stylization of Thrash, Obsydian comes at you like a nuclear battleship against a unarmed dingy full of bunnies. It is sort of a bastardized amalgamation of the power of Carcass meeting Overkill with a thread of Tank flowing through it for good measures. This amazing collection of influences that makes the band’s sound that much more larger than it might be.

Each track is brutal and intriguing all at once. The fact that this grouping of musicians that are talented as hell just adds fuel to the fire. The are the band that just might be the next Metallica. With the right management and a wee bit of luck that will be the key to how far they could get.

They have all of the talent and drive... add in a dash more time to mature as a band then Metallica will have to be looking over their shoulder. Obsydian is ready to take the reigns of the metallic metal masters and it will be taking it by force. They are in training right now and they are close to finishing at the top of the class.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 9
Atmosphere: 8.5
Production: 8
Originality:8
Overall: 8.5

Rating: 8.4 out of 10

Review by Jack on April 22, 2002.

It is always nice when bumping on the latest promotional CD you have just received with no preconceptions or expectations of a band. You can never be truly disappointed; the only possible emotions are puzzlement, mild elation or flat out rabid air-guitaring. Before the other day, I had never heard of Dead Emotions and their debut CD; “Gates to the Unseen” and I was mildly impressed to say the least of the band’s accomplished ability.

Dead Emotions have played with well-known dark/gothic metal bands such as Tristania and Graveworm, so if this is any indication of their ability, then it probably serves as a fair measuring stick. Dead Emotions play a form of dark/death metal which is reasonably brief in length (at 8 songs and 37 minutes), yet they never bore a listener with overblown raucous melodies and musical wankery that many others of their ilk do so repeatedly.

Subtle keyboard passages from Christian Pfaller open the account for a few of the songs on “Gates to the Unseen”, and it is with these harmonious entrances that the plethora of Dead Emotions talents really shine. Haunting German lyrics originally from renowned German author Frederick Nietzsche, on the track ‘Vereinsamt’, coupled with their eerie keyboards from aforementioned synthesist, Christian Pfaller and monotonous guitars from Kratzer and vocalist Selmer, truly create the dreary and dismal feel that I’m sure Dead Emotions are looking for.

Whilst have some truly captivating moments, Dead Emotions and ultimately “Gates to the Unseen” suffer from being slightly too monotonous and downbeat. Maybe the tempo should be increased just a little. Just when you thought the riff in ‘Leidenschaft In Rot’ was going to pick up a little, your hopes are crushed and they revert back to safer grounds. However, when all said and done, “Gates to the Unseen” is a very competent and sound debut, and Dead Emotions should only improve in the future. I am expecting big things, lads.

Bottom Line: These youngsters from Munich play an impressive downbeat blend of death and dark metal, which suffers from a few drab moments, but on the whole is a worthy debut. “Gates of the Unseen” should be pursued by anyone looking for an enriching experience in dark/death or gothic metal.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Originality: 7
Musicianship: 8
Atmosphere: 6
Production: 6
Overall: 7

Rating: 6.8 out of 10