Back in January, I wrote a review for The Eternal’s then-newest EP, Celestial, which leaned towards them experimenting with a new sound – or, at the very least, expanding their sonic palette. I know it isn’t wise to have expectations based on an EP, but I like having an idea of what to expect. Well, after almost eight months since Celestial, they return with full-length, Obscured Horizons. Let’s discuss.

Obscured Horizons is an album with poignant melancholy that permeates throughout the record, even when the music is at its most energetic and lively. It is also structured in a way that makes it feel like a pop record: lots of catchy hooks, emotional vocal passages, and incredibly well-orchestrated and composed tracks that makes Obscured Horizons such a delight to listen to. Its most standout feature is the band’s ability to create melodies that jam themselves deep in the brain, and makes repeated listens extraordinarily necessary. One such example is second track “Existing to Expire,” an energetic track that has a touch of melodeath riffage that somehow brought Omnium Gatherum to mind – there’s something inherently Finnish about the way the band approaches their songwriting. The choruses are fantastic, the music has tinges of melancholy, and the pace moves at mid-tempo but it remains a bright track nonetheless. It also has this groove that we see again on fourth track “Harmony Breaks,” which while on the darker tonal side – and a good contrast to “Existing to Expire” – is slightly…uplifting. Clearly, they were able to take cues from Celestial and implement them into their songwriting. Also, if you ever questioned whether The Eternal has the ability to write a good ballad, look no further than fifth track “I’ve Seen the Dream,” a song that comfortably sits in the middle, showcasing a transition between the first and second halves of the album. It’s a quiet ballad, taking the melancholy to an extreme, reflective point that makes you wonder what happened for someone to write a song like that. Throughout my repeated listens, that track never fails to catch me off-guard, given how its emotional weight sits on the tension between instrumentation and lyricism.

Despite my praise and overall enjoyment, Obscured Horizons does have some flaws. Because of its slow-burn nature, many listeners may not be willing to wait towards the latter half of the album to get to the core and dramatics the band has to offer. It also feels as if the songs on the first half suffer from the ‘samey syndrome,’ albeit with some distinction, like the groove in “Harmony Breaks” and the vocal hook in “Colours Fade.” After a few listens, the music does begin to blur together, and you might find that you are listening to a long 30-minute track versus six separate tracks that should be distinct across the album’s runtime. The other issue is that the music is bottom-heavy, in that the album’s best tracks are in its second half. For example, one of the best tracks on the album is “Obscured Horizons,” which is an emotional yet beautifully orchestrated track that makes me want to close my eyes and live in its space. The fact that I have to wait about 30 minutes to get there means there should have been more variety across tracks or having to cut down aspects of the music to make it transition better. Obscured Horizons is suffering from the Origin problem: their pacing is off and, after multiple listens, I believe some of the music should have ended up on the cutting room floor. For a 47-minute album, it should not be as bloated as it is.

Objectively, Obscured Horizons is a great album, and, if you are into the more emotional aspects of prog-gothic metal, this album will scratch that itch. Subjectively, it feels like it should have been leaner, and would’ve benefitted from having more variation within its tracks. Ultimately, I do like this album but it took me a while to get there.

As previously mentioned, I have expectations about bands who release EPs prior to an album, especially when you showcase an idea or theme that would have been interesting to explore on a new full-length. While the album ultimately succeeds in having fun, melodic music that is great to listen to, Obscured Horizons doesn’t meet the expectations of having something new and fresh in their sonic palette. Regardless, The Eternal created a fun record that will sit with me and I am sure I will find more time to sit with it so I can fully appreciate its artistry.

— Hera

---

Obscured Horizons will be available September 18 on Reigning Phoenix Music. For more information on The Eternal, visit their official Facebook and Instagram pages.