Guitarist/vocalist Steffen Kummerer founded Obscura in 2002. Early on, he set out to improve, redefine, and push forward. Under his self-label creation, the Bavarian released debut album Retribution (2004), followed by heavy touring throughout Europe. Word quickly spread that a brand-new band from the south of Germany was on the rise. Buzz lead to a deal with U.S.-based Relapse Records. The first record out was Cosmogenesis. In Europe, Metal Hammer Germany awarded the album 6/7 while in the U.S. Cosmogenesis hit the Billboard charts at #71. The cross-continental praise and fevered momentum landed Obscura on high-profile tours in Europe, North America, and Japan.
When follow-up Omnivium arrived in 2011, they upped their chart success (Billboard #11; Media Control #14), received more accolades from publications like Terrorizer, Rock Hard, and Decibel, had another massive round-world tour cycle, while enhancing and making progress on their clever brutality. Obscura further developed their sound on Akróasis (2016). Moored by jaw-dropping tracks like “Sermon of the Seven Suns,” “Ode to the Sun,” and the title track, Akróasis elevated Obscura to the highest levels of international renown, having climbed up the Billboard charts (#5) as well as earning top marks in Rock Hard (8.5/10), Metal Hammer Germany (6/7), and Revolver (4/5). The Germans toured the world yet again, playing over 100 shows in support of Akróasis.
Obscura’s most significant accomplishment was, however, just around the corner. The final part of a tetralogy, Diluvium (2018), fiercely pursued Obscura’s multi-album transformation into musical innovators and metal powerhouses. Music videos for the title track, “Emergent Evolution” and “Mortification of the Vulgar Sun,” in concert with a substantial interest in virtuosic, forward-thinking metal, posited Obscura in the good graces (yet again) of the worldwide press in addition to rocketing up, for the very first time, the official album charts in Germany (#58) and Switzerland (#93). The Germans also topped out at #3 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart with Diluvium.
A turning point in the career of the Germans manifested with the first release for the biggest independent metal label on the planet, Nuclear Blast Records. „A Valediction“ granted the band worldwide success, topping their previous albums in a heartbeat, and saw the band climbing higher chart positions worldwide. With epic opening track „Forsaken“, technical-through the roof „Solaris“ and the catchy, melodic and yet accessible title track, „A Valediction“ established the group as outstanding and energetic live act, to be proved by their first tour to cover South- and Central America, aside touring relentlessly throughout Europe, North America and Asia.
Obscura’s stats have been impressive: Twenty-two years active; seven highly prized albums; over 800 shows on four continents. Worldwide fan and press engagement—the videos for “The Anticosmic Overload,” “Akróasis,” and “Diluvium” have over 5 million views—is only getting stronger the longer Obscura continue to offer up and interact with (via play-throughs and member/gear spotlights) their very captive audience. This is only the tip of Kummerer’s custom ESP guitar, however. A Sonication finds Obscura turning the page to a new chapter in the band’s evolution. A year in the works, the songwriting sessions followed a new approach, where the framework was relaxed, allowing new inspirations, imagining, and opportunities to arise. Songs like the opening hit “Silver Linings,” the groove oriented “Evenfall”, the brutal groove of “The Sun Eater” the bitter-sweet fragility of “Stardust,” and the melancholic while melodic title track benefitted compositionally and aesthetically from Obscura’s restyled songwriting stratagem.
In 2025, Obscura will lighthouse their musical prowess, thematic complexity, and lyrical ambition on „A Sonication“. The group continue to be a beacon for change. No doubt Obscura’s new stats will amaze, but what they’re focused on is the release of „A Sonication“ and then taking it on the road. Several high-caliber tours of Europe, North America, and Asia are planned through to 2025, with routes are in the works for the band to visit Australia, Latin America, and beyond. Truly, there is no band quite like Obscura. "A Sonication“ proves that persistence, perseverance, and enterprising minds can achieve anything. Welcome to the next level!
