After releasing their debut album in 2011, the self-titled Obake and the follow-up Mutations in 2014 to widespread acclaim of the British and continental press, Obake are back with Draugr, which signals both a return to the origins of the band and a purification of its sound.
This shift is immediately apparent in the choice of title: while the Japanese term Obake signifies that which changes or shapeshifter or more generally ghost of a departed, now the chosen title for the band’s third release, Draugr is a term of indo-european origin which means creature returning from the dead.
The compactness and formal cohesion of band and release name reflect the newly found balance in the band, now featuring their live drummer Jacopo Pierazzuoli (of Morkobot and Kings Of Fire fame), Colin Edwin on electric bass (member of Metallic Taste Of Blood as well as collaborator of Lorenzo Feliciati in Twinscapes), Lorenzo Esposito Fornasari on guitars and voice and Eraldo Bernocchi on guitars.
The multiplicity of collaborations between the members of Obake have enabled them to develop a compact and unique sound that is as extreme (in its doom and grindcore roots) as it is borderless (in depth explorations of ambient music accompanied by colorings of jazz, progressive rock and noise); Obake’s sound brings the listener back to the roots of rock, along the way drawing vital lymph from Popol Vuh, AshRa Tempel, via Slayer, Sunn O))), Melvins and Coil.
