Restless Oblivion – Sands Of Time

Restless Oblivion is a Russian Doom/Gothic Metal band containing five members at present. They have been active as a band since 2009 – In those 11 years they have so far released one Full-length record and one Single, released exactly a week ago. In order to honour said release we here at Metal Revolution dug deep into our physical archives and managed to find Sands Of Time, the seven-track record released by Restless Oblivion six years prior.

Now at the time it was very well-received – And upon closer inspection I can most certainly understand why. The album is written as a coherent whole, with a strong emphasis on atmosphere that is strongly present throughout. The band even took the time to include both an instrumental intro as well as an outro (meaning that your CD or MP3-player will display nine tracks on the album despite it technically only containing seven) adding even more immersion to the proverbial stirring pot; Something I most certainly always approve.

To sum up Sands of Time is a very slow, methodical and atmospheric piece, the band having included several aspects of what I find to enjoy in modern day Funeral Doom into the mix (such as slow, drawn out vocals and tones, a slow, heavy rhythm building up an equally slow and oppressive atmosphere and the sheer relentlessness of it all) while still managing to keep it more symphonic and faster than band such as, say Ahab or Bell Witch.

That being said, there is something characteristically Russian about Restless Oblivion – I have yet to put my finger on it, but something about their sound subconsciously makes me draw parallels to their kinsmen in Who Dies In Siberian Slush (a personal favourite of mine). At the moment my guess would be that it is the sheer oppressive nature of it all, drawing into the rich Russian tradition of writing and performing art set on the darker side of life – While naturally circling around the more common Doom Metal themes such as the inevitable demise of all living creatures (I am looking at you, ”Edge Of Existance”).

Counting both the intro and outro as part of the whole experience, the album ranks up a very adequate runtime just shy of one hour. And while it might not strictly speaking be part of the Funeral Doom niche, I reckon it is close enough for fans of said genre to give it a spin or two. I for one was not disappointed.

Below the album can be found in its entirety, as well I would recommend enjoying it.

https://www.facebook.com/restlessoblivionru/